BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROCEDURE ..........................................................................................................1
THE FACTS .............................................................................................................2
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE.......................................................2
A. Background ....................................................................................................2
B. The secret surveillance schemes ....................................................................3
1. Government Communications Headquarters (“GCHQ”) .....................................3
2. The United States’ National Security Agency (“NSA”).......................................4
(a) PRISM ..........................................................................................................4
(b) Upstream ......................................................................................................4
C. Domestic proceedings in the first and second of the joined cases .................5
D. Domestic proceedings in the third of the joined cases...................................5
1. The hearing ...........................................................................................................6
2. The IPT’s first judgment of 5 December 2014 .....................................................8
(a) The PRISM issue..........................................................................................8
(b) The section 8(4) issue.................................................................................11
3. The IPT’s second judgment of 6 February 2015 ................................................14
4. The IPT’s third judgment of 22 June 2015 as amended by its 1 July 2015
letter ..................................................................................................................15
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE .....................................16
A. The interception of communications ...........................................................16
1. Warrants: general................................................................................................16
2. Warrants: section 8(4).........................................................................................18
(a) Authorisation ..............................................................................................18
(b) “External” communications .......................................................................18
3. Specific safeguards under RIPA.........................................................................19
(a) Section 15 ...................................................................................................19
(b) Section 16...................................................................................................20
4. The Interception of Communications Code of Practice .....................................22
5. Statement of Charles Farr ...................................................................................35
6. Belhadj and Others v. Security Service, Secret Intelligence Service,
Government Communications Headquarters, the Secretary of State for
the Home Department, and the Secretary of State for the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, IPT/13/132-9/H and IPT/14/86/CH............................35
B. Intelligence sharing ......................................................................................36
1. British-US Communication Intelligence Agreement..........................................36
2. Relevant statutory framework for the operation of the intelligence
services..............................................................................................................36
(a) MI5 .............................................................................................................37
(b) MI6 .............................................................................................................37