The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999

National security

32.—(1) Nothing in any of the provisions of these Regulations shall require a telecommunications service or network provider to do, or refrain from doing, anything (including the processing of data) if exemption from the requirement in question is required for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), a certificate signed by a Minister of the Crown certifying that exemption from any requirement of these Regulations is or at any time was required for the purpose of safeguarding national security shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.

(3) A certificate under paragraph (2) may identify the circumstances in which it applies by means of a general description and may be expressed to have prospective effect.

(4) Any person directly affected by the issuing of a certificate under paragraph (2) may appeal to the Tribunal against the certificate.

(5) If on an appeal under paragraph (4), the Tribunal finds that, applying the principles applied by a court on an application for judicial review, the Minister did not have reasonable grounds for issuing the certificate, the Tribunal may allow the appeal and quash the certificate.

(6) Where in any proceedings under or by virtue of these Regulations it is claimed by a telecommunications service or network provider that a certificate under paragraph (2) which identifies the circumstances in which it applies by means of a general description applies in the circumstances in question, any other party to the proceedings may appeal to the Tribunal on the ground that the certificate does not apply in those circumstances and, subject to any determination under paragraph (7), the certificate shall be conclusively presumed so to apply.

(7) On any appeal under paragraph (6), the Tribunal may determine that the certificate does not so apply.

(8) In this regulation “the Tribunal” means the Data Protection Tribunal referred to in section 6 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and–

(a) subsections (8), (9), (10) and (12) of section 28 of that Act and Schedule 6 thereto shall apply for the purposes of, and in connection with, this regulation as if any references therein to sub-section (2), (4) or (6) of the said section 28 were, respectively, references to paragraph (2), (4) or (6) of this regulation and

(b) section 58 of that Act shall so apply as if the reference therein to the functions of the Tribunal under that Act included a reference to the functions of the Tribunal under paragraphs (4) to (7) of this regulation.