GCHQ acted unlawfully in relation to communications of human rights groups

22/06/15

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal today ruled that GCHQ’s use of intercepted communications was in breach of internal policies and contravened Article 8 ECHR. This is only the second occasion on which the IPT has upheld a complaint against any of the intelligence agencies. The ruling was given in proceedings brought by a group of NGOs including Liberty, Privacy International, Amnesty International and Bytes for All.

The Tribunal’s ruling related to two groups, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the South African Legal Resources Centre. In the first case, the Tribunal held that the communications were lawfully and proportionately intercepted but that there was a technical breach of internal policy in that content was kept for longer than it should have been. In the second case, the interception was lawful and proportionate but the procedure for authorisation laid down in GCHQ’s internal policies was not followed. The Tribunal ordered GCHQ to destroy any content retained.

No compensation was ordered in either case.

The judgment is here