BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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route. For example, an email from a person in London to a person in Birmingham will
be an internal, not external communication for the purposes of section 20 of RIPA,
whether or not it is routed via IP addresses outside the British Islands, because the
sender and intended recipient are within the British Islands.
Intercepting non-external communications under section 8(4) warrants
6.6. Section 5(6)(a) of RIPA makes clear that the conduct authorised by a section
8(4) warrant may, in principle, include the interception of communications which are
not external communications to the extent this is necessary in order to intercept the
external communications to which the warrant relates.
6.7. When conducting interception under a section 8(4) warrant, an intercepting
agency must use its knowledge of the way in which international communications are
routed, combined with regular surveys of relevant communications links, to identify
those individual communications bearers that are most likely to contain external
communications that will meet the descriptions of material certified by the Secretary
of State under section 8(4). It must also conduct the interception in ways that limit the
collection of non-external communications to the minimum level compatible with the
objective of intercepting wanted external communications.
Application for a section 8(4) warrant
6.8. An application for a warrant is made to the Secretary of State. Interception
warrants, when issued, are addressed to the person who submitted the application. The
purpose of such a warrant will typically reflect one or more of the intelligence
priorities set by the National Security Council (NSC).
6.9. Prior to submission, each application is subject to a review within the agency
making the application. This involves scrutiny by more than one official, who will
consider whether the application is for a purpose falling within section 5(3) of RIPA
and whether the interception proposed is both necessary and proportionate.
6.10. Each application, a copy of which must be retained by the applicant, should
contain the following information:
Background to the operation in question:
Description of the communications to be intercepted, details of the CSP(s)
and an assessment of the feasibility of the operation where this is relevant;
and
Description of the conduct to be authorised, which must be restricted to 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 considered to be necessary for
one or more of the section 5(3) purposes;
A consideration of why the conduct to be authorised by the warrant is
proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by that conduct;
Where an application is urgent, supporting justification;