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| Implementation of warrants. |
11. - (1) Effect may be given to an interception warrant either-
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(a) by the person to whom it is addressed; or |
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(b) by that person acting through, or together with, such other persons as he may require (whether under subsection (2) or otherwise) to provide him with assistance with giving effect to the warrant. |
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(2) For the purpose of requiring any person to provide assistance in relation to an interception warrant the person to whom it is addressed may-
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(a) serve a copy of the warrant on such persons as he considers may be able to provide such assistance; or |
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(b) may make arrangements under which a copy of it is to be or may be so served. |
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(3) The copy of an interception warrant that is served on any person under subsection (2) may, to the extent authorised-
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(a) by the person to whom the warrant is addressed, or |
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(b) by the arrangements made by him for the purposes of that subsection, |
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omit any one or more of the schedules to the warrant.
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(4) Where a copy of an interception warrant has been served by or on behalf of the person to whom it is addressed on-
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(a) a person who provides a postal service, |
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(b) a person who provides a public telecommunications service, or |
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(c) a person not falling within paragraph (b) who has control of the whole or any part of a telecommunication system located wholly or partly in the United Kingdom, |
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it shall (subject to subsection (5)) be the duty of that person to take all such steps for giving effect to the warrant as are notified to him by or on behalf of the person to whom the warrant is addressed.
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(5) A person who is under a duty by virtue of subsection (4) to take steps for giving effect to a warrant shall not be required to take any steps which it is not reasonably practicable for him to take.
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(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) the steps which it is reasonably practicable for a person to take in a case in which obligations have been imposed on him by or under section 12 shall include every step which it would have been reasonably practicable for him to take had he complied with all the obligations so imposed on him.
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(7) A person who knowingly fails to comply with his duty under subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence and liable-
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(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both; |
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(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both. |
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(8) A person's duty under subsection (4) to take steps for giving effect to a warrant shall be enforceable by civil proceedings by the Secretary of State for an injunction, or for specific performance of a statutory duty under section 45 of the Court of Session Act 1988, or for any other appropriate relief.
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(9) For the purposes of this Act the provision of assistance with giving effect to an interception warrant includes any disclosure to the person to whom the warrant is addressed, or to persons acting on his behalf, of intercepted material obtained by any interception authorised or required by the warrant, and of any related communications data.
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Interception capability and costs |
| Maintenance of interception capability. |
12. - (1) The Secretary of State may by order provide for the imposition by him on persons who-
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(a) are providing public postal services or public telecommunications services, or |
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(b) are proposing to do so, |
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of such obligations as it appears to him reasonable to impose for the purpose of securing that it is and remains practicable for requirements to provide assistance in relation to interception warrants to be imposed and complied with.
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(2) The Secretary of State's power to impose the obligations provided for by an order under this section shall be exercisable by the giving, in accordance with the order, of a notice requiring the person who is to be subject to the obligations to take all such steps as may be specified or described in the notice.
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(3) Subject to subsection (7), the only steps that may be specified or described in a notice given to a person under subsection (2) are steps appearing to the Secretary of State to be necessary for securing that that person has the practical capability of providing any assistance which he may be required to provide in relation to relevant interception warrants.
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(4) It shall be the duty of a person to whom a notice is given under subsection (2) to comply with the notice; and that duty shall be enforceable by civil proceedings by the Secretary of State for an injunction, or for specific performance of a statutory duty under section 45 of the Court of Session Act 1988, or for any other appropriate relief.
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(5) A notice for the purposes of subsection (2) must specify such period as appears to the Secretary of State to be reasonable as the period within which the steps specified or described in the notice are to be taken.
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(6) Before making an order under this section the Secretary of State shall consult with-
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(a) such persons appearing to him to be likely to be subject to the obligations for which it provides, |
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(b) such persons representing persons falling within paragraph (a), and |
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(c) such persons with statutory functions in relation to persons falling within that paragraph, |
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as he considers appropriate.
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(7) For the purposes of this section the question whether a person has the practical capability of providing assistance in relation to relevant interception warrants shall include the question whether all such arrangements have been made as the Secretary of State considers necessary-
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(a) with respect to the disclosure of intercepted material; and |
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(b) for the purpose of ensuring that security and confidentiality are maintained in relation to, and to matters connected with, the provision of any such assistance. |
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(8) In this section "relevant interception warrant"-
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(a) in relation to a person providing a public postal service, means an interception warrant relating to the interception of communications in the course of their transmission by means of that service; and |
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(b) in relation to a person providing a public telecommunications service, means an interception warrant relating to the interception of communications in the course of their transmission by means of a telecommunication system used for the purposes of that service. |
| Grants for interception costs. |
13. - (1) The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, make such payments out of money provided by Parliament to any person providing-
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(b) a telecommunications service, |
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as the Secretary of State considers would represent an appropriate contribution towards costs incurred, or likely to be incurred, by that person in consequence of any one or more of the matters mentioned in subsection (2).
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(2) Those matters are-
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(a) in relation to a person providing a postal service, the issue of interception warrants relating to communications transmitted by means of that postal service; |
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(b) in relation to a person providing a telecommunications service, the issue of interception warrants relating to communications transmitted by means of a telecommunication system used for the purposes of that service; |
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(c) in relation to each description of person, the imposition on that person of obligations provided for by an order under section 12. |
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Restrictions on use of intercepted material etc. |
| General safeguards. |
14. - (1) Subject to subsection (5), it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure, in relation to all interception warrants, that such arrangements are in force as he considers necessary for securing-
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(a) that the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) are satisfied in relation to the intercepted material and any related communications data; and |
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(b) in the case of warrants in relation to which there are section 8(3) certificates, that the requirements of section 15 are also satisfied. |
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(2) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in relation to the intercepted material and any related communications data if each of the following-
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(a) the number of persons to whom any of the material or data is disclosed or otherwise made available, |
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(b) the extent to which any of the material or data is disclosed or otherwise made available, |
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(c) the extent to which any of the material or data is copied, and |
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(d) the number of copies that are made, |
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is limited to the minimum that is necessary for the authorised purposes.
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(3) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in relation to the intercepted material and any related communications data if each copy made of any of the material or data (if not destroyed earlier) is destroyed as soon as there are no longer any grounds for retaining it as necessary for any of the authorised purposes.
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(4) For the purposes of this section something is necessary for the authorised purposes if, and only if-
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(a) it continues to be, or is likely to become, necessary as mentioned in section 5(3); |
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(b) it is necessary for facilitating the carrying out of any of the functions under this Chapter of the Secretary of State; |
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(c) it is necessary for facilitating the carrying out of any functions in relation to this Chapter of the Interception of Communications Commissioner or of the Tribunal; |
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(d) it is necessary to ensure that a person conducting a criminal prosecution has the information he needs to determine what is required of him by his duty to secure the fairness of the prosecution; or |
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(e) it is necessary for the performance of any duty imposed on any person by the Public Records Act 1958 or the Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923. |
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(5) Arrangements in relation to interception warrants which are made for the purposes of subsection (1)-
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(a) shall not be required to secure that the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) are satisfied in so far as they relate to any of the intercepted material or related communications data, or any copy of any such material or data, possession of which has been surrendered to any authorities of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom; but |
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(b) shall be required to secure, in the case of every such warrant, that possession of the intercepted material and data and of copies of the material or data is surrendered to authorities of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom only if the requirements of subsection (6) are satisfied. |
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(6) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in the case of a warrant if it appears to the Secretary of State-
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(a) that requirements corresponding to those of subsections (2) and (3) will apply, to such extent (if any) as the Secretary of State thinks fit, in relation to any of the intercepted material or related communications data possession of which, or of any copy of which, is surrendered to the authorities in question; and |
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(b) that restrictions are in force which would prevent, to such extent (if any) as the Secretary of State thinks fit, the doing of anything in, for the purposes of or in connection with any proceedings outside the United Kingdom which would result in such a disclosure as, by virtue of section 16, could not be made in the United Kingdom. |
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(7) In this section "copy", in relation to intercepted material or related communications data, means any of the following (whether or not in documentary form)-
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(a) any copy, extract or summary of the material or data which identifies itself as the product of an interception, and |
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(b) any record referring to an interception which is a record of the identities of the persons to or by whom the intercepted material was sent, or to whom the communications data relates, |
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and "copied" shall be construed accordingly.
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| Extra safeguards in the case of certificated warrants. |
15. - (1) For the purposes of section 14 the requirements of this section, in the case of a warrant in relation to which there is a section 8(3) certificate, are that the intercepted material is read, looked at or listened to by the persons to whom it becomes available by virtue of the warrant to the extent only that it-
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(a) has been certified as material the examination of which is necessary as mentioned in section 5(3)(a), (b) or (c); and |
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(b) falls within subsection (2). |
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(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), intercepted material falls within this subsection so far only as it is selected to be read, looked at or listened to otherwise than according to a factor which-
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(a) is referable to an individual who is known to be for the time being in the British Islands; and |
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(b) has as its purpose, or one of its purposes, the identification of material contained in communications sent by him, or intended for him. |
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(3) Intercepted material falls within subsection (2), notwithstanding that it is selected by reference to any such factor as is mentioned in paragraph (a) and (b) of that subsection, if-
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(a) it is certified by the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 8(3) that the examination of material selected according to factors referable to the individual in question is necessary as mentioned in subsection 5(3)(a), (b) or (c); and |
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(b) the material relates only to communications sent during a period of not more than three months specified in the certificate. |
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(4) Intercepted material also falls within subsection (2), notwithstanding that it is selected by reference to any such factor as is mentioned in paragraph (a) and (b) of that subsection, if-
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(a) the person to whom the warrant is addressed believes, on reasonable grounds, that the circumstances are such that the material would fall within that subsection; or |
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(b) the conditions set out in subsection (5) below are satisfied in relation to the selection of the material. |
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(5) Those conditions are satisfied in relation to the selection of intercepted material if-
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(a) it has appeared to the person to whom the warrant is addressed that there has been such a relevant change of circumstances as, but for subsection (4)(b), would prevent the intercepted material from falling within subsection (2); |
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(b) since it first so appeared, a written authorisation to read, look at or listen to the material has been given by a senior official; and |
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(c) the selection is made before the end of the first working day after the day on which it first so appeared to that person. |
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(6) References in this section to its appearing that there has been a relevant change of circumstances are references to its appearing either-
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(a) that the individual in question has entered the British Islands; or |
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(b) that a belief by the person to whom the warrant is addressed in the individual's presence outside the British Islands was in fact mistaken. |
