Commissioners and Tribunal
The Agencies are also overseen by two Commissioners, appointed under the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)[External
website]. They are required to hold, or have held, high judicial
office.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Gibson currently holds the position of
Intelligence Services Commissioner [External
website]. He reviews the issue by the relevant Secretary of State
of warrants and authorisations for operations by the Agencies and
Minstry of Defence (MOD)
which fall under his oversight, namely warrants issued under the
Intelligence Services Act 1994 [External website]
and warrants and authorisations for surveillance and agents under RIPA.
The Interception
of Communications Commissioner[External website], at
present the Rt. Hon. Sir Paul Kennedy, reviews the issue and operation of
warrants permitting the interception of mail and telecommunications and the
acquisition of communications data by the intelligence and security
Agencies, MOD and law enforcement organisations, and the arrangements for
handling the material.
The Commissioners are able to visit the Agencies to discuss any case they
wish to examine in more detail. They must, by law, be given access to
whatever documents and information they need and at the end of each
reporting year they submit reports to the Prime Minister. These reports are
subsequently laid before Parliament and published. See
Reports of the Commissioners for links to their reports.
The Commissioners also assist the Investigatory Powers Tribunal[External website] a body established in October 2000 to
investigate, among other things, complaints by individuals about the
Agencies' conduct towards them or about interception of their
communications. Anyone, regardless of nationality, can complain if they
believe that their communications or human rights have been violated or
abused by any of the Agencies. The Tribunal enquires into each complaint
and investigates whether the Agencies have acted improperly. If the
Tribunal upholds a complaint, it has the power to order such remedial
action as it sees fit including, if it deems appropriate, the award of
damages to the complainant.
The Tribunal is made up of senior members of the legal profession or
judiciary. Lord Justice John Mummery is its current President. See the
Tribunal's website www.ipt-uk.com[External
website] for more information on its role and activities.
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