The intercepted material which may be examined is limited to that described in a certificate
issued by the Secretary of State. The examination has to be certified as necessary for a Chapter
1 of Part I statutory purpose. Examination of material for any other purpose would be unlawful.
Safeguards. These apply to all interception warrants. Section 15(2) strictly controls
the disclosure and/or copying of intercepted material, requiring it to be limited to the
minimum necessary for the authorised purposes. All intercepted material must be
handled in accordance with safeguards which the Secretary of State has approved under
RIPA. Section 15(3) requires that every copy of intercepted material and any related
communications data is destroyed as soon as there are no longer grounds for retaining
it for any of the authorised purposes.
Additional safeguards for section 8(4) interception warrants. There are extra safeguards
in section 16 for section 8(4) warrants and certificates. The section 8(4) intercepted
material may only be examined to the extent that its examination:
•
•
has been certified as necessary for a statutory purpose under Chapter 1 of
Part 1 of RIPA; and
does not relate to the content of communications of an individual who is
known to be for the time being in the British Islands.
So while a section 8(4) warrant does not generally permit communications of someone in
the British Islands to be selected for examination, there are two exceptions.
Section 16(3) permits the examination of material acquired under a section 8(4) warrant
relating to the communications of a person within the British Islands if the Secretary of
State has certified that its examination is necessary for a statutory purpose in relation to
a specific period of not more than 6 months for national security purpose or 3 months
for serious crime or economic well-being. Since this certification has to relate to a specific
person, it is broadly equivalent to a section 8(1) warrant.
Subsections 16(4) and (5) have the effect that material acquired under a section 8(4)
warrant for a person who is within the British Islands may be examined for a very short
period upon the written authorisation of a senior official where the person was believed
to be abroad but it has just been discovered that he or she has in fact entered the British
Islands. This will enable a section 8(1) warrant or section 16(3) certification for that
person to be duly applied for without losing what could be essential intelligence.
Selection of section 8(4) material. Prior to analysts being able to read, look at or listen
to material, they must provide a justification, which includes why access to the material
is required, consistent with, and pursuant to section 16 and the applicable certificate (i.e.
how the requirement is linked to one of the statutory necessity purposes and is a valid
intelligence requirement), and why such access is proportionate. IOCCO inspections and
audits show that the selection procedure is carefully and conscientiously undertaken.
However, the procedure relies on the professional judgment of analysts, their training
and management oversight.
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