LIBERTY AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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(iii) Use and retention of information
27. Section 6 of the 1985 Act was entitled “Safeguards” and read as
follows:
“(1) Where the Secretary of State issues a warrant he shall, unless such
arrangements have already been made, make such arrangements as he considers
necessary for the purpose of securing(a) that the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) below are satisfied in relation to
the intercepted material; and
(b) where a certificate is issued in relation to the warrant, that so much of the
intercepted material as is not certified by the certificate is not read, looked at or
listened to by any person.
(2) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in relation to any intercepted
material if each of the following, namely(a) the extent to which the material is disclosed;
(b) the number of persons to whom any of the material is disclosed;
(c) the extent to which the material is copied; and
(d) the number of copies made of any of the material;
is limited to the minimum that is necessary as mentioned in section 2 (2) above.
(3) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in relation to any intercepted
material if each copy made of any of that material is destroyed as soon as its retention
is no longer necessary as mentioned in section 2 (2) above.”
(b) The Interception of Communications Tribunal (“ICT”)
28. Section 7 of the 1985 Act provided for a Tribunal to investigate
complaints from any person who believed that communications sent by or to
him had been intercepted. Its jurisdiction, so far as material, was limited to
investigating whether there was or had been a “relevant warrant” or a
“relevant certificate” and, where there was or had been, whether there had
been any contravention of sections 2-5 of the 1985 Act in relation to that
warrant or certificate. Section 7(9) read, in so far as relevant, as follows:
“For the purposes of this section –
(a) a warrant is a relevant warrant in relation to an applicant if –
(i) the applicant is specified or described in the warrant; or
(ii) an address used for the transmission of communications to or from a set of
premises in the British Islands where the applicant resides or works is so
specified;