Law Society welcomes ruling that ‘communications with lawyers do need special consideration’
The High Court today ruled that surveillance legislation mandating the mass retention of communications data is illegal.
The High Court today ruled that surveillance legislation mandating the mass retention of communications data is illegal. The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) fails to lay down clear rules for accessing retained data that are limited to defined serious offences and subject to judicial or independent oversight.
At the time of its passage the Law Society criticised DRIPA on the grounds that the legislation was an affront to parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law:
Today’s ruling relates to a case brought by two MPs who launched a High Court challenge against the Government legislation on the grounds that it is "incompatible with EU law".
The Law Society intervened in the case, outlining to the court its concern about the effect of the legislation on legal and professional privilege. The Law Society strongly welcomes the court’s acknowledgment that ‘communications with lawyers do need special consideration’ and trusts that professional privilege will be protected explicitly when the government drafts future surveillance legislation.
Jonathan Smithers, president of the Law Society said: "The Law Society is pleased that our concerns have been heard and that the High Court has recognised the importance of legal professional privilege. We have seen a growing number of instances where data and surveillance powers have been seriously and repeatedly overused. This has included police using secret methods to expose journalistic sources and to monitor journalists' activities and it has also been revealed that the intelligence agencies have been spying on conversations between lawyers and their clients.
He added: “The existing data and surveillance rules are complex and confusing and have been laid down in numerous, badly drafted pieces of legislation, codes and guidance. Too many laws have been rushed through parliament as emergency legislation - most recently the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA). This has undermined parliamentary scrutiny and democratic debate.”
