Part 3Authorisations for obtaining communications data

Targeted authorisations for obtaining data

63Additional restrictions on grant of authorisations

1

A designated senior officer may not grant an authorisation for the purposes of a specific investigation or a specific operation if the officer is working on that investigation or operation.

2

But, if the designated senior officer considers that there are exceptional circumstances which mean that subsection (1) should not apply in a particular case, that subsection does not apply in that case.

3

Examples of exceptional circumstances include—

a

an imminent threat to life or another emergency,

b

the investigation or operation concerned is one where there is an exceptional need, in the interests of national security, to keep knowledge of it to a minimum,

c

there is an opportunity to obtain information where—

i

the opportunity is rare,

ii

the time to act is short, and

iii

the need to obtain the information is significant and in the interests of national security, or

d

the size of the relevant public authority concerned is such that it is not practicable to have a designated senior officer who is not working on the investigation or operation concerned.