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CENTRUM FÖR RÄTTVISA v. SWEDEN JUDGMENT
C. Authorisation of signals intelligence
18. For all signals intelligence, including the development activities, the
FRA must apply for a permit to the Foreign Intelligence Court
(Försvarsunderrättelsedomstolen). The application shall contain the mission
request that the FRA has received, with information on the relevant detailed
tasking directive and the need for the intelligence sought. Also, the signal
carriers to which the FRA requires access have to be specified, along with
the search terms or categories of search terms that will be used. Finally, the
application must state the duration for which the permit is requested
(section 4a).
19. A permit may only be granted if the mission is in accordance with
the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Act and the Signals Intelligence
Act, if the purpose of the interception of signals cannot be met in a less
interfering manner, if the mission can be expected to yield information
whose value is clearly greater than the possible interference with personal
integrity, if the search terms or categories of search terms are in accordance
with the Signals Intelligence Act and if the application does not concern
solely a specific natural person (section 5).
20. If granted, the permit shall specify the mission for which signals
intelligence may be conducted, the signal carriers to which the FRA will
have access, the search terms or categories of search terms that may be
used, the duration of the permit and other conditions necessary to limit the
interference with personal integrity (section 5a).
21. The FRA itself may decide to grant a permit, if the application for a
permit from the Foreign Intelligence Court might cause delay or other
inconveniences of essential importance for one of the specified purposes of
the signals intelligence. If the FRA grants a permit, it has to report to the
court immediately and the court shall without delay decide in the matter.
The court may revoke or amend the permit (section 5b).
22. The composition of the Foreign Intelligence Court and its activities
are regulated by the Foreign Intelligence Court Act (Lagen om
Försvarsunderrättelsedomstol; 2009:966). The court consists of one
president, one or two vice-presidents and two to six other members. The
president is a permanent judge, nominated by the Judges Proposals Board
(Domarnämnden) and appointed by the Government. The vice-presidents,
who must be legally trained and have previous experience as judges, and the
other members, who are required to have special expertise of relevance for
the court’s work, are appointed by the Government on four-year terms. The
applications for signals intelligence permits are discussed during hearings,
which may be held behind closed doors, if it is clear that information
classified as secret would be exposed as a result of a public hearing. During
the court’s examination, the FRA as well as a privacy protection
representative (integritesskyddsombud) are present. The representative, who