EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
31.
ISIC, on its own initiative or at the suggestion of a public authority or CSP, should
have additional powers to notify subjects of their right to lodge an application to the
IPT.30
32.
ISIC should be public-facing, transparent, accessible to media and willing to draw on
expertise from different disciplines.
33.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) should have an expanded jurisdiction and
the capacity to make declarations of incompatibility; and its rulings should be subject
to appeal on points of law.31
Transparency
34.
Whilst the operation of covert powers is and must remain secret, public authorities,
ISIC and the IPT should all be as open as possible in their work. Intrusive capabilities
should be avowed. Public authorities should consider how they can better inform
Parliament and the public about why they need their powers, how they interpret those
powers, the broad way in which those powers are used and why additional
capabilities may be required.32
CONCLUSION
35.
RIPA, obscure since its inception, has been patched up so many times as to make it
incomprehensible to all but a tiny band of initiates. A multitude of alternative powers,
some of them without statutory safeguards, confuse the picture further. This state of
affairs is undemocratic, unnecessary and – in the long run – intolerable.
36.
Parliament provided the Review with a broad canvas,33 which I have done my best to
cover. The recommendations in Chapter 15 aim to provide a clear, coherent and
accessible scheme, adapted to the world of internet-based communications and
encryption, in which:
a.
public authorities have limited powers, but are not shut out from places where
they need access to keep the public safe;
b.
procedures are streamlined, notably in relation to warrants and the
authorisation of local authority requests for communications data;
c.
safeguards are enhanced, notably by:
i. the authorisation of warrants by senior judges;
ii. additional protections relating to the collection and use
communications by the security and intelligence agencies in bulk;
30
31
32
33
Recommendation 99, 14.103-14.104 below.
Recommendations 99 and 113-117, 14.101-14.108 below.
Recommendations 9 and 121-124, 14.7 and 14.110-14.111 below.
1.2 below.
8
of