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Home » Professionals » Legal Guidance » P to R » RIPA Internal Guidance Note

RIPA Codes Of Practice - Internal Guidance Note

Updated - 01/10/07

RIPA Part III

Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) came into force on 1 October 2007.

Key points to note:

  • Part III provides a statutory framework that enables public authorities to ensure that protected or encrypted electronic information which they have obtained lawfully or are likely to obtain lawfully can be put into intelligible form.
  • It is a criminal offence to refuse requests for such disclosure and encryption codes.
  • An accompanying Code of Practice ("Investigation of Protected Electronic Information") also came into force on 1 October. This gives guidance on the scope of Part III's provisions and sets out rules for public authorities on giving notices that impose disclosure requirements, including encryption keys.
  • Under the rules, no public authority can serve a notice seeking disclosure under s.49 of RIPA without the express consent of the National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC) at GCHQ.
  • A copy of the Part III Code of Practice, accompanying Statutory Instrument and explanatory notes are available via the Home Office website. http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/ripa/encryption/
  • NTAC is the lead national authority on encryption and is due to produce guidance for all public authorities on operating under the Code. Policy Directorate will issue a further bulletin when the NTAC issues this guidance.

New Code of Practice under Part I of RIPA

A new statutory Code of Practice, "Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data",also came into force on 1 October 2007.

Key points to note:

  • The new Code is admissible as evidence in Court proceedings and, if relevant, must be taken into account by the Court.
  • It details the scope of powers under Part 1 of RIPA to obtain communications data and the reasons for which authorisation can be sought. It gives detailed examples of the types of communications data, building on the definition at s.21 of RIPA.
  • It gives guidance on how RIPA provisions should be operated, including the form that authorisations and notices to obtain data should take.
  • It also includes rules on data protection safeguards.
  • Anyone dealing with matters under Part 1 of RIPA should be familiar with the new Code.
  • A copy of the Code, accompanying Statutory Instrument, and explanatory notes are available via the Home Office website at: http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/ripa/communications-data/