ABSTRACT
State surveillance of citizens not only invades their privacy, but also has a ‘chilling effect’ on their exercise of other rights and liberties. This effect has long been recognised by the US Supreme Court and was recently articulated by the West German Constitutional Court in its 1983 decision holding a new Census Act unconstitutional:
In the UK, surveillance is carried out on behalf of the state by the security service (MI5), which operates mainly in the UK; by the secret intelligence service (MI6), which operates mainly abroad; by the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which intercepts and analyses signals intelligence (including the communications of other countries, companies and private individuals); and finally by the police and Special Branch. The first section of this chapter assesses how far their functions and powers comply with international standards.
