LIBERTY AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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(ii) The two types of warrant
22. Two types of warrant were permitted by section 3 of the 1985 Act.
The first, a “section 3(1) warrant”, was a warrant that required the
interception of:
“(a) such communications as are sent to or from one or more addresses specified in
the warrant, being an address or addresses likely to be used for the transmission of
communications to or from–
(i) one particular person specified or described in the warrant; or
(ii) one particular set of premises so specified or described; and
(b) such other communications (if any) as it is necessary to intercept in order to
intercept communications falling within paragraph (a) above.”
By section 10(1) of the 1985 Act, the word “person” was defined to
include any organisation or combination of persons and the word “address”
was defined to mean any postal or telecommunications address.
23. The second type of warrant, a “section 3(2) warrant”, was one that
required the interception, in the course of transmission by means of a public
telecommunications system, of:
“(i) such external communications as are described in the warrant; and
(ii) such other communications (if any) as it is necessary to intercept in order to
intercept such external communications as are so described ...”.
24. When he issued a section 3(2) warrant, the Secretary of State was
required to issue also a certificate containing a description of the intercepted
material the examination of which he considered necessary in the interests
of national security, to prevent or detect serious crime or to safeguard the
State’s economic well-being (section 3(2)(b)). A section 3(2) warrant could
not specify an address in the British Islands for the purpose of including
communications sent to or from that address in the certified material unless“3(3)
(a) the Secretary of State considers that the examination of
communications sent to or from that address is necessary for the purpose of
preventing or detecting acts of terrorism; and
(b) communications sent to or from that address are included in the certified
material only in so far as they are sent within such a period, not exceeding three
months, as is specified in the certificate.”
25. Section 3(2) warrants could be issued only under the hand of the
Secretary of State or a permitted official of high rank with the written
authorisation of the Secretary of State. If issued under the hand of the
Secretary of State, the warrant was valid for two months; if by another
official, it was valid for two days. Only the Secretary of State could renew a
warrant. If the Secretary of State considered that a warrant was no longer
necessary in the interests of national security, to prevent or detect serious