BRITISH INTELLIGENCE-RELATED LEGAL DOCUMENTS

An Act to make provision about the Secret Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Headquarters, including provision for the issue of warrants and authorisations enabling certain actions to be taken and for the issue ofsuch warrants and authorisations to be kept under review; to make further provision about warrants issued on applications by the Security Service; to establish a procedure for the investigation of complaints about the Secret Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Headquarters; to make provision for the establishment of an Intelligence and Security Committee to scrutinise all three of those bodies; and for connected purposes. [26th May 1994]

1.[The Secret Intelligence Service.]

2.[The Chief of the Intelligence Service.]

3.[The Government Communications Headquarters.]

4.[The Director of GCHQ.]

AUTHORISATION OF CERTAIN ACTIONS

Warrants: general

5.—(1) No entry on or interference with property or with wireless telegraphy shall be unlawful if it is authorised by a warrant issued by the Secretary of State under this section. (2)The Secretary of State may, on an application made by the Security Service, the Intelligence Service or GCHQ,issue a warrant under this section authorising the taking, subject to subsection (3) below, of such action as is specified in the warrant in respect of any property so specified or in respect of wireless telegraphy so specified ifthe Secretary of State—

(a) thinks it necessary for the action to be taken on the ground that it is likely to be ofsubstantial value in assisting,as the case may be,—

(i) the Security Service in carrying out any ofits functions under the 1989 Act; or

(ii) the Intelligence Service in carrying out any ofits functions under section 1 above; or

(iii) GCHQ in carrying out any function which falls within section 3(1)(a) above; and

(b) is satisfied that what the action seeks to achieve cannot reasonably be achieved by other means; and

(c) is satisfied that satisfactory arrangements are in force under section 2(2)(a) of the 1989 Act (duties ofthe Director-General of the Security Service),section 2(2)(a) above or section 4(2)(a) above with respect to the disclosure of information obtained by virtue ofthis section and that any information obtained under the warrant will be subject to those arrangements.

(3) A warrant issued on the application of the Intelligence Service or GCHQ for the purposes of the exercise of their functions by virtue ofsection 1(2)(c) or 3(2)(c) above may not relate to property in the British Islands.

(3A) A warrant issued on the application of the Security Service for the purposes of the exercise of their function under section 1(4) ofthe Security Service Act 1989 may not relate to property in the British Islands unless it authorises the taking of action in relation to conduct within subsection (3B) below.

(3B) Conduct is within this subsection if it constitutes (or, if it took place in the United Kingdom, would constitute) one or more offences, and either—

(a) it involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose; or

(b) the offence or one of the offences is an offence for which a person who has attained the age of twenty-one and has no previous convictions could reasonably be expected to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three years or more.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the Security Service may make an application under subsection (2) above for a warrant to be issued authorising that Service (or a person acting on its behalf) to take such action as is specified in the warrant on behalf of the Intelligence Service or GCHQ and, where such a warrant is issued, the functions of the Security Service shall include the carrying out of the action so specified, whether or not it would otherwise be within its functions.

(5) The Security Service may not make an application for a warrant by virtue of subsection (4) above except where the action proposed to be authorised by the warrant—

(a) is action in respect of which the Intelligence Service or, as the case may be, GCHQ could make such an application; and

(b) is to be taken otherwise than in support of the prevention or detection of serious crime. Warrants: procedure and duration, etc.

6.—(1) A warrant shall not be issued except—

(a) under the hand of the Secretary of State; or

(b) in an urgent case where the Secretary of State has expressly authorised its issue and a statement of that fact is endorsed on it, under the hand of a senior official of his department.

(2) A warrant shall, unless renewed under subsection (3) below, cease to have effect—

(a) if the warrant was under the hand of the Secretary of State, at the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which it was issued; and

(b) in any other case, at the end of the period ending with the second working day following that day.

(3) If at any time before the day on which a warrant would cease to have effect the Secretary of State considers it necessary for the warrant to continue to have effect for the purpose for which it was issued, he may by an instrument under his hand renew it for a period of six months beginning with that day.

(4) The Secretary of State shall cancel a warrant if he is satisfied that the action authorised by it is no longer necessary.

(5) In the preceding provisions of this section “warrant” means a warrant under section 5 above.

(6) As regards the Security Service, this section and section 5 above have effect in place of section 3 (property warrants) of the 1989 Act, and accordingly—

(a) a warrant issued under that section of the 1989 Act and current when this section and section 5 above come into force shall be treated as a warrant under section 5 above, but without any change in the date on which the warrant was in fact issued or last renewed; and

(b) section 3 of the 1989 Act shall cease to have effect.

7. [Authorisation of acts outside the British Islands.]

8. [The Commissioner.]

9. [Investigation of complaints.]

10. The Intelligence and Security Committee

—(1) There shall be a Committee, to be known as the Intelligence and Security Committee and in this section referred to as “the Committee”, to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of—

(a) the Security Service;

(b) the Intelligence Service; and

(c) GCHQ.

(2) The Committee shall consist of nine members—

(a) who shall be drawn both from the members of the House of Commons and from the members of the House of Lords; and

(b) none of whom shall be a Minister of the Crown.

(3) The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, within the meaning of the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (1975 c.27); and one of those members shall be so appointed as Chairman of the Committee.

(4) Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the tenure of office of members of, the procedure of and other matters relating to, the Committee; and in that Schedule “the Committee” has the same meaning as in this section.

(5) The Committee shall make an annual report on the discharge of their functions to the Prime Minister and may at any time report to him on any matter relating to the discharge of those functions.

(6) The Prime Minister shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each annual report made by the Committee under subsection (5) above together with a statement as to whether any matter has been excluded from that copy in pursuance of subsection (7) below.

(7) If it appears to the Prime Minister, after consultation with the Committee, that the publication of any matter in a report would be prejudicial to the continued discharge of the functions of either of the Services or, as the case may be, GCHQ, the Prime Minister may exclude that matter from the copy of the report as laid before each House of Parliament.

11. [Interpretation and consequential amendments.]

12. [Short title, commencement and extent.]

SCHEDULE 1
[INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS]

SCHEDULE 2
[THE TRIBUNAL]

SCHEDULE 3
Section 10(4)
THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE

Tenure of office

1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, a member of the Committee shall hold office for the duration of the Parliament in which he is appointed.

(2) A member of the Committee shall vacate office—

(a) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Commons;

(b) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Lords;

(c) if he becomes a Minister of the Crown; or

(d) if he is required to do so by the Prime Minister on the appointment, in accordance with section 10(3) of this Act, of another person as a member in his place.

(3) A member of the Committee may resign at any time by notice to the Prime Minister.

(4) Past service is no bar to appointment as a member of the Committee.

Procedure

2.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, the Committee may determine their own procedure.

(2) If on any matter there is an equality of voting among the members of the Committee, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

(3) The Chairman may appoint one of the members of the Committee to act, in his absence, as chairman at any meeting of the Committee, but sub-paragraph (2) above shall not apply to a chairman appointed under this sub-paragraph.

(4) The quorum of the Committee shall be three.

Access to information

3.—(1) If the Director-General of the Security Service, the Chief of the Intelligence Service or the Director of GCHQ is asked by the Committee to disclose any information, then, as to the whole or any part of the information which is sought, he shall either—

(a) arrange for it to be made available to the Committee subject to and in accordance with arrangements approved by the Secretary of State; or

(b) inform the Committee that it cannot be disclosed either—

(i) because it is sensitive information (as defined in paragraph 4 below) which, in his opinion, should not be made available under paragraph (a) above; or

(ii) because the Secretary of State has determined that it should not be disclosed.