Legal Framework
GCHQ, along with MI5 and SIS, is governed by modern and ground-breaking security and intelligence legislation which ensures our work is as democratically accountable and transparent as possible. There are several pieces of primary legislation which govern what we do.
The Intelligence Services Act 1994 sets out GCHQ's function as a foreign-focused signals intelligence agency. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides a modernised framework to govern the use and oversight of investigatory powers by law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies. As a public body, GCHQ is also governed by the Human Rights Act 1998 which protects citizens' rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Our License to Operate
Respecting fundamental rights is of central importance to GCHQ, especially those relating to privacy and the integrity of telecommunications systems. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides that interception warrants will only be granted where:
- it is authorised by a Secretary of State and approved by a Judicial Commissioner
- it is necessary on certain limited grounds
- It is proportionate to what it seeks to achieve.
The limited purposes for which an interception warrant may be issued are:
- In the interests of national security
- In the interests of the economic well-being of the UK (so far as relevant to the interests of national security)
- for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime
