Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)
View on legislation.gov.ukLast amended by Investigatory Powers Act 2016 in 2016. Replaced RIPA's interception and bulk communications-data provisions with a new warrant regime overseen by Judicial Commissioners; Part II surveillance and CHIS powers were largely retained.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Summary
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) created the statutory framework governing the use of covert investigatory techniques by public authorities, designed to make those powers compatible with the right to private life under Article 8 ECHR. It regulated the interception of communications, the acquisition of communications data, directed and intrusive surveillance, the use of covert human intelligence sources (CHIS), and the power to require disclosure of encryption keys, and created the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear complaints. RIPA's interception and communications-data provisions were largely superseded by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, but its Part II surveillance and CHIS regime remains the principal authority for those techniques.
Key Points
- Offence of unlawful interception (s.1) and a warrant regime for lawful interception of communications (Part I, Chapter I) — now largely replaced by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
- Acquisition and disclosure of communications data (s.22, Part I Chapter II) — authorisations to obtain data about communications (not their content)
- Directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources (ss.28-29, Part II) — authorisation framework for covert monitoring and the use and conduct of informants and undercover officers
- Intrusive surveillance (s.32, Part II) — higher-threshold authorisation for surveillance of residential premises or private vehicles
- Power to require disclosure of protected (encrypted) data (s.49, Part III) with a criminal offence for failure to comply (s.53)
- Investigatory Powers Tribunal (s.65, Part IV) — the exclusive forum for complaints that covert powers have been used unlawfully or in breach of human rights
- Local-authority use of directed surveillance and communications data later made subject to magistrates' approval by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Parts & Sections
Amendments History
2016 — Investigatory Powers Act 2016
Replaced RIPA's interception and bulk communications-data provisions with a new warrant regime overseen by Judicial Commissioners; Part II surveillance and CHIS powers were largely retained.
2012 — Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Required local authorities to obtain magistrates' approval before using directed surveillance, CHIS, or communications-data powers, and restricted directed surveillance to offences carrying a custodial sentence of at least six months.