DETERMINATION
1. These are the determinations made by the Tribunal in these proceedings in accordance
with section 68 (4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. They should
be read together with the Tribunal’s judgment of the same date.
2. No determination has been made in favour of the First, Second or Fourth to Ninth
Claimants inclusive.
3. A determination has been made in favour of the Third Claimant, Sami Al Saadi.
4. Under Rule 13 (2) of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal Rules 2000 where the
Tribunal makes a determination in favour of a complainant it is required to provide
him with a summary of that determination including any findings of fact. However
that duty is subject, under Rule 13 (4), to the general duty imposed on the Tribunal by
Rule 6 (1).
5. The general duty imposed on the Tribunal under Rule 6 (1) is to carry out its functions
“in such a way as to secure that information is not disclosed to an extent, or in a
manner, that is contrary to the public interest or prejudicial to national security … or
the continued discharge of the functions of any of the intelligence services.” The
Tribunal may not provide any information by way of findings of fact that raise any
substantial risk of damaging national security interests by, inter alia, revealing or
indicating the methods of operation of the intelligence agencies in carrying out
surveillance or interception functions. For that reason this summary states only the
essential elements of the Tribunal’s determination.
6. The Tribunal, exercising its powers under section 68 (7), has required and received
full cooperation from the Respondents in disclosing all documents and information
required in order to investigate the complaints made by the Claimants.
7. Under section 68 (2) the Tribunal exercised its power to require assistance from the
Interception of Communications Commissioner, given that his office is best placed
and has the technical expertise to scrutinise the evidence submitted. The Tribunal has
been assisted by an Inspector appointed by the Commissioner, who carried out the
investigative work required by the Tribunal to confirm the accuracy of the material
evidence. On the basis of his investigative work, and its own assessment of the
evidence, both written and oral, the Tribunal is fully satisfied that the evidence
relevant to the complaints of the Claimants is accurate and complete.
8. The Tribunal has found that there are only two documents containing material subject
to the legal professional privilege of any of the Claimants which have been held by
any of the Agencies, namely by GCHQ. These two documents contain information