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BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
1.3. Relevant public authorities for the purposes of Chapter II of Part I of RIPA
(‘Chapter II’) should not:
use other statutory powers to obtain communications data from a postal or
telecommunications operator unless that power provides explicitly for
obtaining communications data, or is conferred by a warrant or order issued
by the Secretary of State or a person holding judicial office; or
require, or invite, any postal or telecommunications operator to disclose
communications data by exercising any exemption to the principle of
non‑disclosure of communications data under the Data Protection Act 1998
(‘the DPA’).
...
1.7. The exercise of powers and duties under Chapter II is kept under review by the
Interception of Communications Commissioner (‘the Commissioner’) appointed
under section 57 of RIPA and by his inspectors who work from the Interception of
Communications Commissioner’s Office (IOCCO).
...
2 GENERAL EXTENT OF POWERS
Scope of Powers, Necessity and Proportionality
2.1. The acquisition of communications data under RIPA will be a justifiable
interference with an individual’s human rights under Articles 8 and, in certain
circumstances, 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights only if the conduct
being authorised or required to take place is both necessary and proportionate and in
accordance with law.
2.2. RIPA stipulates that conduct to be authorised or required must be necessary for
one or more of the purposes set out in section 22(2) of RIPA:
in the interests of national security;
for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder;
in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom so far as
those interests are also relevant to the interests of national security;
in the interests of public safety;
for the purpose of protecting public health;
for the purpose of assessing or collecting any tax, duty, levy or other
imposition, contribution or charge payable to a government department;
for the purpose, in an emergency, of preventing death or injury or any
damage to a person’s physical or mental health, or of mitigating any injury
or damage to a person’s physical or mental health;
to assist investigations into alleged miscarriages of justice;
for the purpose of assisting in identifying any person who has died
otherwise than as a result of crime or who is unable to identify himself
because of a physical or mental condition, other than one resulting from
crime (such as a natural disaster or an accident);