ANNEX 15: THE LAW OF THE FIVE EYES
63.
SISA 1979 also contains provisions relating to destruction of irrelevant data.
The Government Communications Security Bureau
64.
The GCSB was originally a branch of the Ministry of Defence. It bears some
resemblance to GCHQ in the United Kingdom. The Director of GCSB may apply in
writing to the Minister for an interception warrant authorising the interception of:70
(a)
Communications made or received by one or more persons or classes of
persons specified in the authorisation or made and received in one or more
places or classes of places specified in the authorisation;
(b)
Communications sent from, or being sent to an overseas country; or
(c)
The accessing of one of more specified information infrastructures or classes of
information infrastructures that the Bureau cannot otherwise lawfully access.
65.
As under SISA 1979, any application for a warrant or access authorisation must be
made jointly to the Minister and the Commissioner of Security Warrants, if anything
done under the warrant is for the purpose of intercepting the private communications
of a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.71 If the warrant or authorisation is not
sought for the purpose of intercepting the private communications of a person who is a
New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, only the Minister needs to agree it.72
66.
The Minister and Commissioner may grant the interception warrant if satisfied that it is
for the purpose of performing the Bureau’s functions; the outcome justifies the
interception; it cannot be achieved by other means; there are satisfactory arrangements
to ensure that nothing will be done in reliance on the warrant that goes beyond what is
necessary; and anything done will be reasonable, having regard to the purposes of the
warrant itself.73 As with SISA 1979, no warrant may be issued for the purpose of
intercepting privileged communications.
67.
Interception without a warrant may take place in certain narrow circumstances, when
the interception does not involve physically connecting an interception device to any
information infrastructure or installing an interception device in a place; any access to
information infrastructure is “limited to access to one or more communication links
between computers or to remote terminals” and it is carried out in pursuance of either
advising or cooperating with public authorities in terms of protecting communications
and infrastructures, or regarding foreign intelligence.74
Police Surveillance
68.
The Search and Surveillance Act 2012 [SSA 2012] sets out a comprehensive regime
governing all species of warrant, including warrants for entry, warrants to set up road
blocks and interception under a warrant. A warrant is necessary if an enforcement
70
GCSB Act s15A(1).
GCSB Act s15B.
GCSB Act s14.
GCSB Act ss15A(2).
GCSB Act s16.
71
72
73
74
361