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above can make a submission. A warrant granted under Section 8(1) of RIPA (also known
as an ‘8(1) warrant’) must name or describe the subject of the interception, as well as
the ‘selectors’ (such as an e-mail address, postal address, telephone number and so on)
that will be used to identify the communications that are to be intercepted.
4.20
A warrant granted under Section 8(4) of RIPA (an ‘8(4) warrant’) does not need to name
the subject of interception, nor does it impose an express limit on the number of external
communications which may be intercepted. This is the basis on which intelligence
agencies are able to collect data in ‘bulk’. If the requirements under this section are met,
then the interception of all communications transmitted on a particular route or cable,
or carried by a particular CSP, could, in principle, be lawfully authorised. According to
the Home Office, ‘This reflects the fact that section 8(4) interception is an intelligence
gathering capability, whereas section 8(1) interception is primarily an investigative tool
that is used once a particular subject for interception has been identified’.7
4.21
In practice, the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, the Defence Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice for Scotland
authorise interception warrants. The secretary of state must make a judgement over
whether or not the interception is both necessary and proportionate. The Home Office
Code of Practice notes that ‘Interception of communications will not be proportionate if
it is excessive in the circumstances of the case or if the information which is sought could
reasonably be obtained by other means’.8
4.22
Once a warrant has been issued, the intercepting agency is then authorised to carry out
the interception or to call on the assistance of the relevant CSP, which is under a ‘duty
to take all such steps for giving effect to the warrant’.9 Interception warrants issued
on serious-crime grounds are valid for an initial period of three months. Interception
warrants issued on the grounds of national security or economic well-being of the UK
are valid for an initial period of six months, subject to renewal.
4.23
Part I, Chapter II of RIPA 2000 covers the acquisition and disclosure of communications
data. Only certain organisations are able to request communications data from CSPs.
They include police forces, the NCA, HMRC and the SIAs, as well as local authorities.
Only persons designated under the Act may authorise access to communications
data, and only for certain purposes (the persons and purposes vary according to the
organisation in question).
4.24
A final important aspect of the RIPA 2000 legislation is that it put into statute the IPT, as
well as the roles of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Surveillance
7.
8.
9.
Home Office, ‘Interception of Communications: Code of Practice’, draft for public
consultation, 2015, p. 19.
Home Office, Interception of Communications: Code of Practice (London: The Stationery
Office, 2002), pp. 7–8.
RIPA 2000, Section 11(4).