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BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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)16(6) of RIPA; and
An assurance that all material intercepted will be handled in accordance
with the safeguards required by sections 15 and 16 of RIPA (see
paragraphs 7.2 and 7.10 respectively).
Authorisation of a section 8(4) warrant
6.11. Before issuing a warrant under section 8(4), the Secretary of State must
believe the warrant is necessary:
In the interests of national security;
For the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime; or
For the purpose of safeguarding the economic well-being of the UK so far
as those interests are also relevant to the interests of national security.
6.12. The power to issue an interception warrant for the purpose of safeguarding the
economic well-being of the UK (as provided for by section 5(3)(c) of RIPA), may
only be exercised where it appears to the Secretary of State that the circumstances are
relevant to the interests of national security. The Secretary of State will not issue a
warrant on section 5(3)(c) grounds if a direct link between the economic well-being of
the UK and national security is not established. Any application for a warrant on
section 5(3)(c) grounds should therefore identify the circumstances that are relevant to
the interests of national security.
6.13. The Secretary of State must also consider that the conduct authorised by the
warrant is proportionate to what it seeks to achieve (section 5(2)(b)). In considering
necessity and proportionality, the Secretary of State must take into account whether
the information sought could reasonably be obtained by other means (section 5(4)).
6.14. When the Secretary of State issues a warrant of this kind, it must be
accompanied by a certificate in which the Secretary of State certifies that he or she
considers examination of the intercepted material to be necessary for one or more of
the section 5(3) purposes. The purpose of the statutory certificate is to ensure that a
selection process is applied to intercepted material so that only material described in
the certificate is made available for human examination. Any certificate must broadly
reflect the “Priorities for Intelligence Collection” set by the NSC for the guidance of
the intelligence agencies. For example, a certificate might provide for the examination
of material providing intelligence on terrorism (as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000)
or on controlled drugs (as defined by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971). The Interception
of Communications Commissioner must review any changes to the descriptions of
material specified in a certificate.
6.15. The Secretary of State has a duty to ensure that arrangements are in force for
securing that only that material which has been certified as necessary for examination
for a section 5(3) purpose, and which meets the conditions set out in section 16(2) to
section 16(6) is, in fact, read, looked at or listened to. The Interception of
Communications Commissioner is under a duty to review the adequacy of those
arrangements.
Urgent authorisation of a section 8(4) warrant
6.16. RIPA makes provision (section 7(l)(b)) for cases in which an interception
warrant is required urgently, yet the Secretary of State is not available to sign the