Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - July 2016
is necessary and proportionate, and to ensure that when errors occur individuals can
exercise their right to an effective remedy.
2.3
As well as contributing significantly to accountability, oversight also aids
transparency. For the last few years IOCCO have striven to improve transparency and
inform the public better about what the legislation allows, how IOCCO carries out its
oversight, the use public authorities make of these intrusive powers and the level of
compliance that the public authorities and prisons are achieving. We have a website
and a Twitter account on which we publish frequent guidance documents, statistical
information, recommendations, speeches, press statements, inquiry reports etc. Since
2013 our reports to the Prime Minister have been published in full with no confidential
annex.
2.4
Our function, as debated and decided by Parliament, is to “conduct audits and to
check what is happening in practice, rather than to examine every case universally.”8 We
have introduced a vigorous inspection regime to enable us to carry out our function
effectively. Section 58(1) of RIPA imposes a statutory obligation on everyone concerned
with the powers we oversee to disclose or provide to the Commissioner all such
documents or information as may be required for the purpose of enabling him to carry
out his functions under section 57 of RIPA.
2.5
IOCCO is not a promoter of the legislation or of the public authorities’ use of it.
Our focus is to audit independently compliance against existing legislation. Changes to
the legislation and matters of policy are for others, Parliament in particular, to consider
and to decide upon. The IPT has an exclusive role in the UK in proceedings for actions
that are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
2.6
Under Section 57(7) of RIPA, the secretary of state is obliged to consult with the
Commissioner and to make such technical facilities available and, subject to Treasury
approval as to numbers, to provide the Commissioner with such staff as are sufficient to
ensure that he is able properly to carry out his functions. The Commissioner is supported
in his role by the Head of IOCCO Joanna Cavan, a team of ten inspectors and two secretariat.
IOCCO’s staff are independent, highly skilled and experienced in the principles and detail
of RIPA. The inspectors have been recruited from a wide variety of backgrounds and
bring with them a broad range of experience. Their expertise covers the fields of legal,
policy, investigative, analytical and forensic telecommunications. They have extensive
experience of working with police forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies,
industry regulators, universities and telecommunications-related private organisations,
and some have acted as accredited Single Points of Contact (SPoCs), Senior Responsible
Officers (SROs) and Designated Persons (DPs).
8 See RIP Bill debate: Standing Committee F - Tuesday 28 March 2000 Regulation of Investigatory Powers
Bill Comments by the Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Charles Clarke)
www.iocco-uk.info
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