Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - July 2016
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the interception of external communications, or the conduct (including the
interception of other communications not specifically identified by the warrant
as foreseen under section 5(6)(a) of RIPA) it is necessary to undertake in order
to carry out what is authorised or required by the warrant, and the obtaining
of related communications data;
the certificate that will regulate examination of intercepted material;
an explanation of why the interception is necessary under section 5(3);
an explanation of why the conduct is proportionate to what is sought to be
achieved by that conduct;
where an application is urgent, supporting justification;
an assurance that intercepted material will be read, looked at or listened to
only so far as it is certified, and it meets the conditions of sections 16(2) to
16(6) of RIPA; and
an assurance that all intercepted material will be handled in accordance with
the safeguards required by sections 15 and 16 of RIPA.
6.28 The intercepted material which may be examined in consequence is limited to
that described in a certificate issued by the secretary of state. The examination has to be
certified as necessary for a Chapter 1 of Part 1 statutory purpose. Examination of material
for any other purpose would be unlawful.
6.29 Safeguards. These apply to all interception warrants. Section 15(2) strictly
controls the disclosure and/or copying of intercepted material, requiring it to be limited
to the minimum necessary for the authorised purposes. All intercepted material must
be handled in accordance with safeguards which the secretary of state has approved
under RIPA. Section 15(3) requires that every copy of intercepted material and any related
communications data are destroyed as soon as there are no longer grounds for retaining
it for any of the authorised purposes.
6.30 Additional safeguards for section 8(4) interception warrants. There are extra
safeguards in section 16 of RIPA for section 8(4) warrants and certificates. The section 8(4)
intercepted material may only be examined to the extent that its examination:
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has been certified as necessary for a statutory purpose under Chapter 1 of
Part 1 of RIPA, and
does not relate to the content of communications of an individual who is
known to be for the time being in the British Islands.
6.31 Thus a section 8(4) warrant does not generally permit the communications of
someone in the British Islands to be selected for examination. This is, however, qualified
to a limited extent by sections 16(3) and 16(5).
6.32 Section 16(3) of RIPA permits the examination of material acquired under a section
8(4) warrant relating to the communications of a person within the British Islands if the
secretary of state has certified that its examination is necessary for a statutory purpose in
relation to a specific period of not more than six months for national security purposes or
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