CENTRUM FÖR RÄTTVISA v. SWEDEN JUDGMENT
FRA, the Security Police and the Armed Forces in a working group called
the National Centre for Assessment of Terrorist Threats (Nationellt centrum
för terrorhotbedömning; “NCT”) where a number of analysts from the three
authorities work together and write reports containing strategic assessments
of terrorist threats. With the FRA’s permission and as long as the data is
relevant for such terrorist threat assessments, the NCT analysts have direct
access to “analysis results” contained in the FRA databases. The analysts do
not, however, have direct access to the FRA’s databases to conduct their
own free searches. Furthermore, while the information made available to the
analysts through direct access may contain personal data, the assessments
made by the NCT are of a strategic, general nature and are not, as such,
directed at individual persons.
49. Personal data may be communicated to other States or international
organisations only if this is not prevented by secrecy and if necessary for the
FRA to perform its activities within international defence and security
cooperation. The Government may adopt rules or decide in a specific case
to allow such communication of personal data also in other cases, where
necessary for the activities of the FRA (Chapter 1, section 17 of the FRA
Personal Data Processing Act). The FRA may disclose personal data to a
foreign authority or an international organisation if it is beneficial for the
Swedish government (statsledningen) or Sweden’s comprehensive defence
strategy (totalförsvaret); information so communicated must not harm
Swedish interests (section 7 of the FRA Personal Data Processing
Ordinance).
G. Supervision of the implementation of signals intelligence
50. The Foreign Intelligence Act (section 5) and the Signals Intelligence
Act (section 10) provide that an authority is to oversee the foreign
intelligence activities in Sweden and verify that the FRA’s activities are in
compliance with the provisions of the Signals Intelligence Act. The
supervisory authority – the Foreign Intelligence Inspectorate – is, among
other things, tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Foreign
Intelligence Act and the associated Ordinance and reviewing whether
foreign intelligence activities are performed in compliance with the
applicable directives (section 4 of the Foreign Intelligence Inspectorate
Instructions Ordinance (Förordningen med instruktion för Statens
inspektion för försvarsunderrättelseverksamheten; 2009:969)). It also
reviews compliance with the Signals Intelligence Act by examining in
particular the selectors used, the destruction of intelligence and the
communication of reports; if an inspection reveals that a particular
intelligence collection is incompatible with a permit, the Inspectorate may
decide that the operation shall cease or that the intelligence shall be
destroyed (section 10 of the Signals Intelligence Act). The FRA shall report