Investigatory Powers Bill (HC Bill 172)

(3) The person to whom the application is made may issue the warrant only if the
person considers—

(a) that there are exceptional and compelling circumstances that make it
necessary to authorise the interception, or (in the case of a targeted
5examination warrant) the selection for examination, of items subject to
legal privilege, and

(b) that the arrangements made for the purposes of section 46 or (as the
case may be) section 132 (safeguards relating to retention and
disclosure of material) include specific arrangements for the handling,
10retention, use and destruction of such items.

(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply if—

(a) an application is made by or on behalf of an intercepting authority for
a warrant under this Chapter,

(b) the intercepting authority considers that the relevant communications
15are likely to include items subject to legal privilege, and

(c) subsections (2) and (3) do not apply.

(5) The application must contain—

(a) a statement that the intercepting authority considers that the relevant
communications are likely to include items subject to legal privilege,
20and

(b) an assessment of how likely it is that the relevant communications will
include such items.

(6) The person to whom the application is made may issue the warrant only if the
person considers that the arrangements made for the purposes of section 46 or
25(as the case may be) section 132 include specific arrangements for the handling,
retention, use and destruction of items subject to legal privilege.

(7) In this section “relevant communications” means—

(a) in relation to a targeted interception warrant or mutual assistance
warrant, any communications the interception of which is authorised
30or required by the warrant;

(b) in relation to a targeted examination warrant, any communications the
content of which the warrant authorises to be selected for examination.

Further provision about warrants

26 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Ministers

(1) 35The decision to issue a warrant under this Chapter must be taken personally
by—

(a) the Secretary of State, or

(b) in the case of a warrant to be issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member
of the Scottish Government.

(2) 40Before a warrant under this Chapter is issued, it must be signed by the person
who has taken the decision to issue it.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) are subject to—

(a) subsection (4), and

(b) section 33 (special rules for certain mutual assistance warrants).

(4) If it is not reasonably practicable for a warrant to be signed by the person who
has taken the decision to issue it, the warrant may be signed by a senior official
designated by the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Scottish
Ministers for that purpose.

(5) 5In such a case, the warrant must contain a statement that—

(a) it is not reasonably practicable for the warrant to be signed by the
person who took the decision to issue it, and

(b) the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) a member of the Scottish
Government has personally and expressly authorised the issue of the
10warrant.

(6) In this section “senior official” means—

(a) in the case of a warrant to be issued by the Secretary of State, a member
of the Senior Civil Service or a member of the Senior Management
Structure of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service;

(b) 15in the case of a warrant to be issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member
of the staff of the Scottish Administration who is a member of the Senior
Civil Service.

27 Requirements that must be met by warrants

(1) A warrant under this Chapter must contain a provision stating whether it is a
20targeted interception warrant, a targeted examination warrant or a mutual
assistance warrant.

(2) A warrant issued under this Chapter must be addressed to the person by
whom, or on whose behalf, the application for the warrant was made.

(3) A warrant that relates to a particular person or organisation, or to a single set
25of premises, must name or describe that person or organisation or those
premises.

(4) A warrant that relates to a group of persons who share a common purpose or
who carry on (or may carry on) a particular activity must—

(a) describe that purpose or activity, and

(b) 30name or describe as many of those persons as it is reasonably
practicable to name or describe.

(5) A warrant that relates to more than one person or organisation, or more than
one set of premises, where the conduct authorised or required by the warrant
is for the purposes of a single investigation or operation, must—

(a) 35describe the investigation or operation, and

(b) name or describe as many of those persons or organisations, or as many
of those sets of premises, as it is reasonably practicable to name or
describe.

(6) A warrant that relates to any testing or training activities must—

(a) 40describe those activities, and

(b) name or describe as many of the persons within subsection (7) as it is
reasonably practicable to name or describe.

“Testing or training activities” has the meaning given by section 15(3).

(7) A person is within this subsection if—

(a) in the case of a targeted interception warrant, communications from, or
intended for, the person will or may be intercepted by an interception
authorised or required by the warrant, or

(b) in the case of a targeted examination warrant, the content of
5communications from, or intended for, the person may be selected for
examination under the warrant.

(8) Where—

(a) a targeted interception warrant or mutual assistance warrant
authorises or requires the interception of communications described in
10the warrant, or

(b) a targeted examination warrant authorises the selection of the content
of communications for examination,

the warrant must specify the addresses, numbers, apparatus, or other factors,
or combination of factors, that are to be used for identifying the
15communications.

(9) Any factor, or combination of factors, specified in accordance with subsection
(8) must be one that identifies communications which are likely to be or to
include—

(a) communications from, or intended for, any person named or described
20in the warrant, or

(b) communications originating on, or intended for transmission to, any
premises named or described in the warrant.

28 Duration of warrants

(1) A warrant under this Chapter ceases to have effect at the end of the relevant
25period (see subsection (2)), unless—

(a) it is renewed before the end of that period (see section 29), or

(b) it is cancelled or otherwise ceases to have effect before the end of that
period (see sections 22 and 32).

(2) In this section “the relevant period”—

(a) 30in the case of an urgent warrant which has not been renewed, means the
period ending with the fifth working day after the day on which the
warrant was issued;

(b) in any other case, means the period of 6 months beginning with—

(i) the day on which the warrant was issued, or

(ii) 35in the case of a warrant that has been renewed, the day after the
day at the end of which the warrant would have ceased to have
effect if it had not been renewed.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) a warrant is an “urgent warrant” if—

(a) the warrant was issued without the approval of a Judicial
40Commissioner, and

(b) the person who decided to issue the warrant considered that there was
an urgent need to issue it.

29 Renewal of warrants

(1) If the renewal conditions are met, a warrant issued under this Chapter may be
45renewed, at any time before the end of the relevant period, by an instrument
issued by the appropriate person (see subsection (3)).

(2) The renewal conditions are—

(a) that the appropriate person considers that the warrant continues to be
necessary on any relevant grounds (see subsection (4)),

(b) that the appropriate person considers that the conduct that would be
5authorised by the renewed warrant continues to be proportionate to
what is sought to be achieved by that conduct,

(c) that, in the case of a targeted examination warrant, the appropriate
person considers that the warrant continues to be necessary to
authorise the selection of relevant content for examination in breach of
10the prohibition in section 134(4), and

(d) that the decision to renew the warrant has been approved by a Judicial
Commissioner.

(3) The appropriate person is—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
15State;

(b) in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member of
the Scottish Government.

(4) “Relevant grounds” means—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, grounds falling
20within section 18;

(b) in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, grounds falling
within section 19(4).

(5) The decision to renew a warrant must be taken personally by the appropriate
person, and the instrument renewing the warrant must be signed by that
25person.

(6) Section 21 (approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners) applies in relation
to a decision to renew a warrant as it applies in relation to a decision to issue a
warrant (and accordingly any reference in that section to the person who
decided to issue the warrant is to be read as a reference to the person who
30decided to renew it).

(7) Sections 24 (Members of Parliament etc.) and 25 (items subject to legal
privilege) apply in relation to a decision to renew a warrant as they apply in
relation to a decision to issue a warrant.

(8) In this section “the relevant period” has the same meaning as in section 28.

(9) 35This section is subject to section 33 (special rules for certain mutual assistance
warrants).

30 Modification of warrants

(1) The provisions of a warrant issued under this Chapter may be modified at any
time by an instrument issued by the person making the modification.

(2) 40The only modifications that may be made under this section are—

(a) adding, varying or removing the name or description of a person,
organisation or set of premises to which the warrant relates, and

(b) adding, varying or removing any factor specified in the warrant in
accordance with section 27(8).

(3) The decision to modify the provisions of a warrant must be taken personally
by the person making the modification, and the instrument making the
modification must be signed by that person.

(4) In this section—

(a) 5a modification adding or varying a name or description as mentioned
in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) is referred to as a “major
modification”, and

(b) any other modification within that subsection is referred to as a “minor
modification”.

(5) 10A major modification may be made by—

(a) the Secretary of State, in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of
State,

(b) a member of the Scottish Government, in the case of a warrant issued
by the Scottish Ministers, or

(c) 15a senior official acting on behalf of the Secretary of State or (as the case
may be) the Scottish Ministers.

(6) A minor modification may be made by—

(a) the Secretary of State, in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of
State,

(b) 20a member of the Scottish Government, in the case of a warrant issued
by the Scottish Ministers,

(c) a senior official acting on behalf of the Secretary of State or (as the case
may be) the Scottish Ministers,

(d) the person to whom the warrant is addressed, or

(e) 25a person who holds a senior position in the same public authority as the
person mentioned in paragraph (d).

(7) But if a person within subsection (6)(d) or (e) considers that there is an urgent
need to make a major modification, that person (as well as a person within
subsection (5)) may do so.

30Section 31 contains provision about the approval of major modifications made
in urgent cases.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (6)(e) a person holds a senior position in a public
authority if—

(a) in the case of any of the intelligence services—

(i) 35the person is a member of the Senior Civil Service or a member
of the Senior Management Structure of Her Majesty’s
Diplomatic Service, or

(ii) the person holds a position in the intelligence service of
equivalent seniority to such a person;

(b) 40in the case of the National Crime Agency, the person is a National
Crime Agency officer of grade 2 or above;

(c) in the case of the metropolitan police force, the Police Service of
Northern Ireland or the Police Service of Scotland, a person is of or
above the rank of superintendent;

(d) 45in the case of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the person is a
member of the Senior Civil Service;

(e) in the case of the Ministry of Defence—

(i) the person is a member of the Senior Civil Service, or

(ii) the person is of or above the rank of brigadier, commodore or
air commodore.

(9) A person may make a major modification of a warrant by adding a name or
description as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) only if the person considers—

(a) 5that the modification is necessary on any relevant grounds (see
subsection (10)), and

(b) that the conduct authorised by the modification is proportionate to
what is sought to be achieved by that conduct.

(10) In subsection (9)(a) “relevant grounds” means—

(a) 10in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, grounds falling
within section 18;

(b) in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, grounds falling
within section 19(4);

and for the purposes of subsection (9) any reference to the Secretary of State in
15section 18(3)(b) or the Scottish Ministers in section 19(4)(b) is to be read as a
reference to the person making the modification.

(11) Sections 24 (Members of Parliament etc.) and 25 (items subject to legal
privilege) apply in relation to a decision to make a major modification of a
warrant by adding a name or description as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) as
20they apply in relation to a decision to issue a warrant; and accordingly where
section 24 applies only the Secretary of State may make the modification.

(12) Where a major modification of a warrant is made by a senior official in
accordance with subsection (5), the Secretary of State or (in the case of a
warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers) a member of the Scottish Government
25must be notified personally of the modification and the reasons for making it.

(13) If at any time a person mentioned in subsection (6) considers that any factor
specified in a warrant in accordance with section 27(8) is no longer relevant for
identifying communications which, in the case of that warrant, are likely to be,
or to include, communications falling within section 27(9)(a) or (b), the person
30must modify the warrant by removing that factor.

(14) In this section “senior official” means—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, a member of the
Senior Civil Service or a member of the Senior Management Structure
of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service;

(b) 35in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member of
the staff of the Scottish Administration who is a member of the Senior
Civil Service.

(15) Nothing in this section applies in relation to modifying the provisions of a
warrant in a way which does not affect the conduct authorised or required by
40it.

31 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases

(1) This section applies where a person makes a major modification of a warrant
under this Chapter by virtue of section 30(7).

(2) The person who made the modification must inform a designated senior
45official that it has been made.

(3) In this section—

Investigatory Powers BillPage 26

• “designated senior official” means a senior official who has been
  designated by the Secretary of State or (in the case of warrants issued
  by the Scottish Ministers) the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of this
  section, and

• 5“senior official” has the same meaning as in section 30.

(4) In addition, the Secretary of State or (in the case of a warrant issued by the
Scottish Ministers) a member of the Scottish Government must be notified
personally of the modification and the reasons for making it.

(5) The designated senior official must, before the end of the relevant period—

(a) 10decide whether to approve the decision to make the modification, and

(b) notify the person of the senior official’s decision.

“The relevant period” means the period ending with the fifth working day after
the day on which the modification was made.

(6) If the designated senior official refuses to approve the decision to make the
15modification—

(a) the Secretary of State or (in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish
Ministers) a member of the Scottish Government must be notified
personally of the refusal,

(b) the warrant (unless it no longer has effect) has effect as if the
20modification had not been made, and

(c) the person to whom the warrant is addressed must, so far as is
reasonably practicable, secure that anything in the process of being
done under the warrant by virtue of that modification stops as soon as
possible.

(7) 25Nothing in this section affects the lawfulness of—

(a) anything done under the warrant by virtue of the modification before
the modification ceases to have effect;

(b) if anything is in the process of being done under the warrant by virtue
of the modification when the modification ceases to have effect—

(i) 30anything done before that thing could be stopped, or

(ii) anything done which it is not reasonably practicable to stop.

32 Cancellation of warrants

(1) Any of the appropriate persons may cancel a warrant issued under this
Chapter at any time.

(2) 35If any of the appropriate persons considers that—

(a) a warrant issued under this Chapter is no longer necessary on any
relevant grounds, or

(b) the conduct authorised by the warrant is no longer proportionate to
what is sought to be achieved by that conduct,

40the person must cancel the warrant.

(3) In subsection (2)(a) “relevant grounds” means—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, grounds falling
within section 18;

(b) in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, grounds falling
45within section 19(4).

(4) For the purpose of this section “the appropriate persons” are—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
State or a senior official acting on behalf of the Secretary of State;

(b) in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member of
the Scottish Government or a senior official acting on behalf of the
5Scottish Ministers.

(5) Where a warrant is cancelled under this section, the person to whom the
warrant was addressed must, so far as is reasonably practicable, secure that
anything in the process of being done under the warrant stops as soon as
possible.

(6) 10A warrant that has been cancelled under this section may not be renewed.

(7) In this section “senior official” means—

(a) in the case of a warrant issued by the Secretary of State, a member of the
Senior Civil Service or a member of the Senior Management Structure
of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service;

(b) 15in the case of a warrant issued by the Scottish Ministers, a member of
the staff of the Scottish Administration who is a member of the Senior
Civil Service.

(8) See also section 33 (which imposes a duty to cancel mutual assistance warrants
in certain circumstances).

33 20Special rules for certain mutual assistance warrants

(1) For the purposes of this section a warrant is a “relevant mutual assistance
warrant” if—

(a) the warrant is for the purposes of a request for assistance made under
an EU mutual assistance instrument or an international mutual
25assistance agreement by the competent authorities of a country or
territory outside the United Kingdom, and

(b) either—

(i) it appears that the interception subject is outside the United
Kingdom, or

(ii) 30the interception to which the warrant relates is to take place in
relation only to premises outside the United Kingdom.

(2) The decision to issue a relevant mutual assistance warrant may be taken by a
senior official designated by the Secretary of State for that purpose.

(3) In such a case, the warrant must contain—

(a) 35a statement that the warrant is issued for the purposes of a request for
assistance made under an EU mutual assistance instrument or an
international mutual assistance agreement (as the case may be) by the
competent authorities of a country or territory outside the United
Kingdom, and

(b) 40whichever of the following statements is applicable—

(i) a statement that the interception subject appears to be outside
the United Kingdom;

(ii) a statement that the interception to which the warrant relates is
to take place in relation only to premises outside the United
45Kingdom.

(4) A relevant mutual assistance warrant may be renewed by a senior official
designated by the Secretary of State for that purpose; and references in section
29 to the appropriate person include, in the case of such a warrant, references
to that senior official.

(5) 5Where a senior official renews a relevant mutual assistance warrant in
accordance with subsection (4), the instrument renewing the warrant must
contain—

(a) a statement that the renewal is for the purposes of a request for
assistance made under an EU mutual assistance instrument or an
10international mutual assistance agreement (as the case may be) by the
competent authorities of a country or territory outside the United
Kingdom, and

(b) whichever of the following statements is applicable—

(i) a statement that the interception subject appears to be outside
15the United Kingdom;

(ii) a statement that the interception to which the warrant relates is
to take place in relation only to premises outside the United
Kingdom.

(6) Subsection (7) applies in a case where—

(a) 20a relevant mutual assistance warrant—

(i) was issued containing the statement set out in subsection
(3)(b)(i), or

(ii) has been renewed by an instrument containing the statement
set out in subsection (5)(b)(i), and

(b) 25the last renewal (if any) of the warrant was a renewal by a senior official
in accordance with subsection (4).

(7) If the Secretary of State, or a senior official acting on behalf of the Secretary of
State, believes that the person, group or organisation named or described in the
warrant as the interception subject is in the United Kingdom, that person must
30cancel the warrant under section 32.

(8) In this section—

• “the interception subject”, in relation to a warrant, means the person,
  group of persons or organisation about whose communications
  information is sought by the interception to which the warrant relates;

• 35“senior official” means a member of the Senior Civil Service or a member
  of the Senior Management Structure of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic
  Service.

Implementation of warrants

34 Implementation of warrants

(1) 40This section applies to targeted interception warrants and mutual assistance
warrants.

(2) In giving effect to a warrant to which this section applies, the person to whom
it is addressed (“the intercepting authority”) may (in addition to acting alone)
act through, or together with, such other persons as the intercepting authority
45may require (whether under subsection (3) or otherwise) to provide the
authority with assistance in giving effect to the warrant.

(3) For the purpose of requiring any person to provide assistance in relation to a
warrant to which this section applies, the intercepting authority may—

(a) serve a copy of the warrant on any person who the intercepting
authority considers may be able to provide such assistance, or

(b) 5make arrangements for the service of a copy of the warrant on any such
person.

(4) A copy of a warrant may be served under subsection (3) on a person outside
the United Kingdom for the purpose of requiring the person to provide such
assistance in the form of conduct outside the United Kingdom.

(5) 10For the purposes of this Act, the provision of assistance in giving effect to a
warrant to which this section applies includes any disclosure to the
intercepting authority, or to persons acting on behalf of the intercepting
authority, of anything obtained under the warrant.

(6) References in this section and sections 35 and 36 to the service of a copy of a
15warrant include—

(a) the service of a copy of one or more schedules contained in the warrant
with the omission of the remainder of the warrant, and

(b) the service of a copy of the warrant with the omission of any schedule
contained in the warrant.

35 20Service of warrants outside the United Kingdom

(1) This section applies to the service of warrants under section 34(3) on a person
outside the United Kingdom.

(2) A copy of a warrant may be served on the person in any of the following ways
(as well as by electronic or other means of service)—

(a) 25by serving it at the person’s principal office within the United Kingdom
or, if the person has no such office in the United Kingdom, at any place
in the United Kingdom where the person carries on business or
conducts activities;

(b) if the person has specified an address in the United Kingdom as one at
30which the person, or someone on the person’s behalf, will accept
service of documents of the same description as a copy of a warrant, by
serving it at that address;

(c) by making it available for inspection (whether to the person or to
someone acting on the person’s behalf) at a place in the United
35Kingdom (but this is subject to subsection (3)).

(3) A copy of a warrant may be served on a person in the way mentioned in
subsection (2)(c) only if—

(a) it is not reasonably practicable for a copy to be served by any other
means (whether as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b) or otherwise),
40and

(b) the intercepting authority takes such steps as the authority considers
appropriate for the purpose of bringing the contents of the warrant, and
the availability of a copy for inspection, to the attention of the person.

(4) The steps mentioned in subsection (3)(b) must be taken as soon as reasonably
45practicable after the copy of the warrant is made available for inspection.

(5) In this section “the intercepting authority” has the same meaning as in section
34.