MR JUSTICE BURTON
Approved Judgment
A consideration of why the conduct to be authorised by
the warrant is proportionate to what is sought to be
achieved by that conduct.
A consideration of any unusual degree of collateral
intrusion, and why that intrusion is justified in the
circumstances. In particular, where the communications
in question might affect religious, medical or
journalistic confidentiality or legal privilege, this must
be specified in the application.
Where an application is urgent, supporting justification
should be provided.
An assurance that intercepted material will be read,
looked at or listened to only so far as it is certified, and
it meets the conditions of sections 16(2)-16(6) of the
Act.
An assurance that all material intercepted will be
handled in accordance with the safeguards required by
sections 15 and 16 of the Act.”
There are then provisions placing obligations on the Secretary of State in relation to
the authorisation of such a warrant, and giving further guidance as to its necessity
and proportionality (paragraphs 5.3 to 5.6). Paragraph 5.12 provides, in respect of
renewal of such a warrant, that:
“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 5.2 above. In particular, the applicant
must give an assessment of the value of interception to the
operation to date and explain why he considers that
interception continues to be necessary for one or more of the
purposes in section 5(3).”
Detailed records are required to be kept by paragraph 5.17.
76.
Chapter 6 of the Code is headed “Safeguards”. There is detailed reference to ss.15
and 16, to dissemination of intercepted material, to copying, storage and, in
paragraph 6.8, destruction:
“6.8 Intercepted material, and all copies, extracts and
summaries which can be identified as the product of an
interception, must be securely destroyed as soon as it is no
longer needed for any of the authorised purposes. If such
material is retained, it should be reviewed at appropriate
intervals to confirm that the justification for its retention is still
valid under section 15(3) of the Act.”