(b) that the conduct authorised by the warrant is proportionate to what is
sought to be achieved by that conduct.
(3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a warrant is necessary
on grounds falling within this subsection if it is necessary –
(a) in the interests of national security;
(b) for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime;
(c)
for the purpose of safeguarding the economic well-being of the United
Kingdom; or
(d) for the purpose, in circumstances appearing to the Secretary of State
to be equivalent to those in which he would issue a warrant by virtue
of paragraph (b), of giving effect to the provisions of any international
mutual assistance agreement.
(3) The matters to be taken into account in considering whether the
requirements of subsection (2) are satisfied in the case of any warrant shall
include whether the information which it is thought necessary to obtain under the
warrant could reasonably be obtained by other means…
41. At paragraph 14 the Tribunal made reference to a statement made by the
Director General of the Organised Crime, Drugs and International Group of the
Home Office, and then at paragraph 33 referred to paragraph 14 of that statement
which said
“…This process under section 8(4) permits selection and examination of the
selected material only to the extent that to do so would be necessary in the
interests of national security, to prevent or detect serious crime or to
safeguard the economic well-being of the United Kingdom. In this regard
and generally, section 8(4) is to be read in conjunction with section 15 of
[RIPA], which in subsection (1)(b) specifically makes section 8(4) warrants
subject to arrangements for ensuring that the requirements of section 16 of
[RIPA] are satisfied (namely “that intercepted material is read, looked at or
listened to by the persons to whom it becomes available by virtue of the
warrant to the extent only that it has been certified as material the
examination of which is necessary as mentioned in section 5(3)(a), (b) or
(c)”). It is the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that such
arrangements are in force that he considers necessary for securing that the
requirements of s16 are satisfied.”
The Tribunal then continued:
Paragraph 39:
The provisions, in this case the right to intercept and access material covered
by a s8(4)warrant, and the criteria by reference to which it is exercised, are in our
judgment sufficiently accessible and foreseeable to be in accordance with law.
The parameters in which the discretion to conduct interception is carried on, by
reference to s5(3) and subject to the safeguards referred to, are plain from the face
of the statute. In this difficult and perilous area of national security, taking into
account both the necessary narrow approach to Article 8(2) and the fact that the
burden is placed upon the Respondent, we are satisfied that the balance is
properly struck.
Errors
42. The following should be read in the context of my general comments in
paragraph 15 of this Report. A significant number of errors and breaches have
been reported to me during the course of the year – 45 in all. This reflects an
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