The Legislative Framework for the Agencies
The Agencies act within the law. All their operations are conducted within
a framework of legislation that defines their roles and activities. In
summary, their operations must relate to the protection of national
security, the prevention or detection of serious crime, or the UK's
economic well-being.
By law Agency heads are required to seek the personal approval of an
appropriate Secretary of State for all intrusive surveillance and
interception of communications activities.
The main statutes governing the Agencies are:
A fuller list of and links to relevant legislation can be found on the Legislation page.
The above Acts have been amended by several subsequent pieces of
legislation. For instance, the Intelligence Services Act was amended by the
Anti-Terrorism, Crime
and Security Act 2001 [External website], and the
Security Service Act has been amended by five separate Acts since it was
passed in 1989. The legislative framework is continuing to evolve to ensure
that it meets current challenges.
The Acts listed above are overseen by the independent
Intelligence Services and Interception of Communications Commissioners,
who must hold or have held high judicial office. The Commissioners review
the exercise of a Secretary of State's powers and report to the Prime
Minister annually. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was also established,
appointed by HM The Queen and presided over by a person who either holds or
has held high judicial office. The Tribunal is, among other things, tasked
to investigate individuals' complaints into the Agencies' actions.
These form a vital part of the oversight arrangements for the national
intelligence machinery (see the Accountability and
Oversight page for more details).
This framework of legislation complies with the requirements of the Human Rights Act
1998 [External website], which incorporated the
principles of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.
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