Renewal of a section 8(4) warrant
6.22. The Secretary of State may renew a warrant at any point before
its expiry date. Applications for renewals are made to the Secretary of
State and contain an update of the matters outlined in paragraph 6.10
above. In particular, the applicant must give an assessment of the
value of interception to date and explain why it is considered that
interception continues to be necessary for one or more of the
purposes in section 5(3), and why it is considered that interception
continues to be proportionate.
6.23. Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the interception
continues to meet the requirements of RIPA, the Secretary of State
may renew the warrant. Where the warrant is issued on serious crime
grounds, the renewed warrant is valid for a further three months.
Where it is issued on national security/economic well-being grounds
the renewed warrant is valid for six months. These dates run from the
date of signature on the renewal instrument.
6.24. In those circumstances where the assistance of CSPs has been
sought, a copy of the warrant renewal instrument will be forwarded to
all those on whom a copy of the original warrant instrument has been
served, providing they are still actively assisting. A renewal instrument
will include the reference number of the warrant or warrants being
renewed under this single instrument.
Warrant cancellation
6.25. The Secretary of State must cancel an interception warrant if, at
any time before its expiry date, he or she is satisfied that the warrant is
no longer necessary on grounds falling within section 5(3) of RIPA.
Intercepting agencies will therefore need to keep their warrants under
continuous review and must notify the Secretary of State if they assess
that the interception is no longer necessary. In practice, the
responsibility to cancel a warrant will be exercised by a senior official
in the warrant issuing department on behalf of the Secretary of State.
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