MR JUSTICE BURTON
Approved Judgment
Paragraph 6.9 deals with personnel security.
77.
As appears from what we have set out above, there are numerous references to the
duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that arrangements are in force in relation to
dealings with the intercepted material and any related communications data: viz
sub-sections 15(1), (5), (6): and there are some similar references in the Code (e.g.
paragraph 5.17). Mr Farr, in his witness statement, similarly to his evidence with
regard to the Prism Issue, says as follows as to these arrangements:
“100. Section 15 of RIPA imposes a duty on the Secretary of
State to ensure, in relation to section 8(4) warrants, that such
arrangements are in force as he considers necessary for
securing that the requirements of sections 15(2)-(3) and 16 are
satisfied. Chapter 6 of the current Code expands on the nature
of the required safeguards, as does the revised draft Code to
which I refer in paragraph 161 below (which was published for
consultation and remains in the public domain). Beyond these
public statements, the full details of the sections 15 and 16
arrangements are (and have always been) kept confidential. I
have reviewed the safeguards that have been put in place for
the purposes of sections 15 and 16 and I am satisfied that they
cannot safely be put into the public domain without
undermining the effectiveness of interception methods. This
would be contrary to the interests of national security and
prejudicial to the prevention and detection of serious crime.
Interception techniques form a critical resource for the
Government in countering terrorism and serious crime. To
maintain the effectiveness of the techniques of interception that
are adopted, the Government must take steps to ensure
appropriate levels of secrecy not only as regards the fact of
interception but also as regards the detailed manner in which it
is performed. This applies to what I am able to say about the
nature of the s. 8(4) regime and the safeguards that attach to it.
101. Although the full details of the sections 15 and 16
arrangements cannot be made public, they are not simply an
internal Government matter. Rather, they are made available
to the Commissioner (see paragraph 6.1 of the Code) who is
required (by section 57(2)(d)(i) of RIPA) to keep them under
review. Further, to facilitate oversight by the Commissioner (i)
each intercepting agency is required to keep a record of the
arrangements in question (see paragraph 5.17 of the Code) and
(ii) any breach of the arrangements must be reported to the
Commissioner (paragraph 6.1 of the Code).”
78.
The alleged factual premises agreed for the purposes of the s.8(4) Issue at this
hearing are as follows:
“3. The Claimants’ communications might in principle have
been intercepted in the United Kingdom under the s. 8(4)
regime (as defined in the Original Open Response) and at least