Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is a judicial body, independent of the British Government, which hears complaints about surveillance
by public bodies. The Tribunal was established in 2000 by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
, and replaced the Interception of Communications Tribunal, the Security Service Tribunal, and the Intelligence Services Tribunal.
(MI5), the Secret Intelligence Service
(MI6) and the Government Communications Headquarters
(GCHQ).
Organisations under the Tribunal's jurisdiction must provide details to the Tribunal of any activity that is being complained about. The Tribunal will only decide whether any surveillance that is being carried out is lawful - that is has been appropriately authorised and is being conducted in accordance with the applicable rules. If it investigates a complaint and finds that suveillance is being carried out but is lawful, it will not confirm to the complainant that they are under surveillance, merely state that their complaint has not been upheld. The Tribunal is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act 2000
so information made available to it in the course of considering a complaint cannot be obtained under a freedom of information
request.
Complaints may be dealt with on paper or by oral hearing, at the Tribunal's discretion.
A complaint about surveillance being conducted by a private person or a company cannot be heard by the Tribunal.
. The President and Vice President must both hold or have previously held senior judicial
posts. The current President is Lord Justice Mummery, a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
. All the other members must be experienced barrister
s or solicitor
s.
One of the Tribunal's few published rulings concerns the high profile case of a family who were placed under surveillance by Poole Borough Council in order to investigate claims that the family were not living in the school catchment area which they claimed. The Tribunal ruled that the use of covert surveillance by the Council was not appropriate.
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
by public bodies. The Tribunal was established in 2000 by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications...
, and replaced the Interception of Communications Tribunal, the Security Service Tribunal, and the Intelligence Services Tribunal.
Jurisdiction
The Tribunal has jurisdiction to consider complaints about the use of surveillance by any organisation with powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. It is also the only judicial body with the power to investigate the conduct of the Security ServiceMI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
(MI5), the Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
(MI6) and the Government Communications Headquarters
Government Communications Headquarters
The Government Communications Headquarters is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces...
(GCHQ).
Organisations under the Tribunal's jurisdiction must provide details to the Tribunal of any activity that is being complained about. The Tribunal will only decide whether any surveillance that is being carried out is lawful - that is has been appropriately authorised and is being conducted in accordance with the applicable rules. If it investigates a complaint and finds that suveillance is being carried out but is lawful, it will not confirm to the complainant that they are under surveillance, merely state that their complaint has not been upheld. The Tribunal is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
so information made available to it in the course of considering a complaint cannot be obtained under a freedom of information
Freedom of information in the United Kingdom
Freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom is controlled by two Acts of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments respectively, which both came into force on 1 January 2005.* Freedom of Information Act 2000...
request.
Complaints may be dealt with on paper or by oral hearing, at the Tribunal's discretion.
A complaint about surveillance being conducted by a private person or a company cannot be heard by the Tribunal.
Members of the Tribunal
The members of the Tribunal are appointed by the QueenMonarchy of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
. The President and Vice President must both hold or have previously held senior judicial
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
posts. The current President is Lord Justice Mummery, a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
. All the other members must be experienced barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s or solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
s.
Cases
Only selected rulings by the Tribunal are published. Statistics concerning complaints dealt with by the Tribunal are published each year in the Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner. Those statistics shows that very few complaints about surveillance have been upheld by the Tribunal: in the period 2000 to 2009, five out of at least 956 complaints made have been upheld as shown in the table below.| Year | Total complaints | Complaints upheld | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 and 2001 | 102 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 130 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 109 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 90 | nil | |
| 2005 | 80 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 86 | nil | |
| 2007 | 66 | nil | |
| 2008 | 136 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 157 | 1 | |
| 2010 | unknown | 1 | |
| Total | 956 | 5 (0.4%) |
One of the Tribunal's few published rulings concerns the high profile case of a family who were placed under surveillance by Poole Borough Council in order to investigate claims that the family were not living in the school catchment area which they claimed. The Tribunal ruled that the use of covert surveillance by the Council was not appropriate.