CHAPTER 15: RECOMMENDATIONS
Judicial Commissioners
106.
Judges entitled to authorise warrants should be known as Judicial Commissioners
(or Assistant Judicial Commissioners) so as to emphasise their distinct and
independent status. There should be regular dialogue and sharing of experience
between the Judicial Commissioners and the inspectorate.
107.
Judicial Commissioners could be full-time or (as currently in the OSC) part-time
judges on duty according to a rota. They should be capable of providing prompt and
efficient service for applications from all parts of the UK. It will be necessary to
provide 24-hour cover (as currently provided by the Secretary of State) for cases
where urgent applications for warrants and authorisations arise out of hours.
Inspectorate
108.
An inspectorate should be provided for the audit and inspection functions entrusted
to ISIC.
109.
ISIC should have staff with the necessary expertise (including technical expertise)
and resources in relation to:
(a)
each power whose operation it audits or inspects (including interception and
encryption, communications data, directed and intrusive surveillance, property
interference and CHIS/undercover operations); and
(b)
each function relating to intercepted material and data (including acquisition,
use, storage, retention, dissemination, sharing and destruction).
Legal
110.
ISIC should have an in-house legal presence and one or more security-cleared
standing counsel, appointed on a part-time basis from the independent practising
Bar, whose function would be, on request:
(a)
to give advice on recent developments in the law;
(b)
to advise ISIC on possible legal vulnerabilities in the arrangements whose
operation it reviews;
(c)
to advise (at the request of the Judicial Commissioners) in relation to
applications for warrants or requests for authorisations on proposed
communications data authorisations;
(d)
to assist with the legal aspects of formulating guidance and contributing to
Codes of Practice; and
(e)
by these means to help ISIC ensure that the activities it authorises, audits or
reviews are lawful, and that the public authorities it oversees have due warning
of legal difficulties.
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