Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

[F111 Implementation of warrants.U.K.

(1)Effect may be given to an interception warrant either—

(a)by the person to whom it is addressed; or

(b)by that person acting through, or together with, such other persons as he may require (whether under subsection (2) or otherwise) to provide him with assistance with giving effect to the warrant.

(2)For the purpose of requiring any person to provide assistance in relation to an interception warrant the person to whom it is addressed may—

(a)serve a copy of the warrant on such persons as he considers may be able to provide such assistance; or

(b)make arrangements under which a copy of it is to be or may be so served.

[F2(2A)A copy of a warrant may be served under subsection (2) on a person outside the United Kingdom (and may relate to conduct outside the United Kingdom).

(2B)Service under subsection (2) of a copy of a warrant on a person outside the United Kingdom may (in addition to electronic or other means of service) be effected in any of the following ways—

(a)by serving it at the person's principal office within the United Kingdom or, if the person has no such office in the United Kingdom, at any place in the United Kingdom where the person carries on business or conducts activities;

(b)if the person has specified an address in the United Kingdom as one at which the person, or someone on the person's behalf, will accept service of documents of the same description as a copy of a warrant, by serving it at that address;

(c)by making it available for inspection (whether to the person or to someone acting on the person's behalf) at a place in the United Kingdom (but this is subject to subsection (2C)).

(2C)Service under subsection (2) of a copy of a warrant on a person outside the United Kingdom may be effected in the way mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (2B) only if—

(a)it is not reasonably practicable for service to be effected by any other means (whether as mentioned in subsection (2B)(a) or (b) or otherwise), and

(b)the person to whom the warrant is addressed takes such steps as the person thinks appropriate for the purpose of bringing the contents of the warrant, and the availability of a copy for inspection, to the attention of the person outside the United Kingdom.

The steps mentioned in paragraph (b) must be taken as soon as reasonably practicable after the copy of the warrant is made available for inspection.]

(3)The copy of an interception warrant that is served on any person under subsection (2) may, to the extent authorised—

(a)by the person to whom the warrant is addressed, or

(b)by the arrangements made by him for the purposes of that subsection,

omit any one or more of the schedules to the warrant.

(4)Where a copy of an interception warrant has been served by or on behalf of the person to whom it is addressed on—

(a)a person who provides a postal service,

(b)a person who provides a public telecommunications service, or

(c)a person not falling within paragraph (b) who has control of the whole or any part of a telecommunication system located wholly or partly in the United Kingdom,

it shall (subject to subsection (5)) be the duty of that person [F3(whether or not the person is in the United Kingdom)] to take all such steps for giving effect to the warrant as are notified to him by or on behalf of the person to whom the warrant is addressed.

(5)A person who is under a duty by virtue of subsection (4) to take steps for giving effect to a warrant shall not be required to take any steps which it is not reasonably practicable for him to take.

[F4(5A)Where a person outside the United Kingdom is under a duty by virtue of subsection (4) to take any steps in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom for giving effect to a warrant, in determining for the purposes of subsection (5) whether the steps are reasonably practicable for the person to take, regard is to be had (amongst other matters) to—

(a)any requirements or restrictions under the law of that country or territory relevant to the taking of those steps, and

(b)the extent to which it is reasonably practicable to give effect to the warrant in a way that does not breach any such requirements or restrictions.]

(6)For the purposes of subsection (5) the steps which it is reasonably practicable for a person to take in a case in which obligations have been imposed on him by or under section 12 shall include every step which it would have been reasonably practicable for him to take had he complied with all the obligations so imposed on him.

(7)A person who knowingly fails to comply with his duty under subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both;

(b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.

(8)A person’s duty under subsection (4) to take steps for giving effect to a warrant shall be enforceable [F5(including in the case of a person outside the United Kingdom)] by civil proceedings by the Secretary of State for an injunction, or for specific performance of a statutory duty under section 45 of the M1Court of Session Act 1988, or for any other appropriate relief.

(9)For the purposes of this Act the provision of assistance with giving effect to an interception warrant includes any disclosure to the person to whom the warrant is addressed, or to persons acting on his behalf, of intercepted material obtained by any interception authorised or required by the warrant, and of any related communications data.]