56
BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
acquisition or disclosure of any traffic data or service use data, and their compliance
with Chapter II and with this code.
Notices
3.43. The giving of a notice is appropriate where a CSP is able to retrieve or obtain
specific data, and to disclose that data, unless the grant of an authorisation is more
appropriate. A notice may require a CSP to obtain any communications data, if that
data is not already in its possession.
3.44. The decision of a designated person whether to give a notice shall be based on
information presented to them in an application.
3.45. The ‘giving of a notice’ means the point at which a designated person
determines that a notice should be given to a CSP. In practice, once the designated
person has determined that a notice should be given, it will be served upon a CSP in
writing or, in an urgent situation, communicated to the CSP orally.
3.46. The notice should contain enough information to allow the CSP to comply
with the requirements of the notice.
3.47. A notice – the original or a copy of which must be retained by the SPoC
within the public authority – must:
be given in writing or, if not, in a manner that produces a record, within the
public authority, of its having been given;
include a unique reference number and also identify the public authority;
specify the purpose for which the notice has been given, by reference to a
statutory purpose under 22(2) of RIPA;
describe the communications data to be obtained or disclosed under the
notice specifying, where relevant, any historic or future date(s)and, where
appropriate, time period(s);
include an explanation that compliance with the notice is a requirement of
RIPA;
specify the office, rank or position held by the designated person giving the
notice. The name (or designation) of the designated person giving the
notice should also be recorded;
specify the manner in which the data should be disclosed. The notice
should contain sufficient information including the contact details of the
SPoC to enable a CSP to confirm the notice is authentic and lawful;
record the date and, when appropriate to do so, the time when the notice
was given by the designated person; and
where appropriate, provide an indication of any urgency or time within
which the CSP is requested to comply with the requirements of the notice.
3.48. A notice must not place a CSP under a duty to do anything which it is not
reasonably practicable for the CSP to do. SPoCs should be mindful of the need to
draft notices to ensure the description of the required data corresponds with the ways
in which the CSP processes, retains and retrieves its data for lawful disclosure. CSPs
cannot necessarily or reasonably edit or adapt their systems to take account of every
possible variation of what may be specified in notices.