CHAPTER 15: RECOMMENDATIONS
83.
It should be the duty of every relevant person to disclose or provide to ISIC all such
documents and information as ISIC may require for carrying out its functions, as is
the case for the current Commissioners under RIPAs s58 and 60 and the Police Act
1997 s107(5)(a).
Powers and functions
Warrants and authorisations
84.
ISIC (through its Judicial Commissioners: see Recommendations 106-107 below)
should be granted powers:
(a)
to issue and renew warrants (Recommendation 22 above);
(b)
to make major modifications to specific interception warrants and combined
warrants (Recommendations 34 and 39 above);
(c)
to make modifications to bulk warrants (Recommendation 49 above);
(d)
to cancel warrants that it has issued (Recommendations 36, 39 and 49 above);
(e)
to authorise applications for communications data referred to it by public
authorities pursuant to Recommendations 68 (privileged and confidential
material) and 70 (novel and contentious) above; and
(f)
to issue guidance (cf. the OSC’s Procedures and Guidance of December 2014)
to public authorities in relation to issues arising in relation to applications for
warrants and the grant of authorisations, which would supplement the new law
and any codes of practice issued under it and which should be published where
the constraints of national security permit.
85.
The functions referred to in Recommendation 84 above should only be performed by
Judicial Commissioners who hold or have held high judicial office (High Court or
above), subject to the possibility of delegating certain functions to persons who hold
or have held judicial office at least at the level of Circuit Judge. As currently with the
OSC, the judicial authorisation function should be independent from and in no sense
subordinate to the other functions of ISIC.
86.
Judicial Commissioners should use their power where appropriate to request further
clarification, information or documents from the requesting public authority, and/or to
consult standing counsel on any point of legal difficulty. Public authorities should
have a right of appeal to the Chief Judicial Commissioner (Recommendation 33(b)
above).
87.
ISIC (through its Judicial Commissioners) should also take over from the OSC its
equivalent functions (in relation to public authorities other than the security and
intelligence agencies) in relation to intrusive surveillance, property interference and
undercover officers under RIPA Part II, RIP(S)A and the Police Act 1997.
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