| 
          
         | 
        
          
            <<  
             ^ 
              >>
          
          
            
              
                Date: 1999-10-25
                 
                 
                UK: Neues Krypto-Gesetz als Gesetzverstoss
                
                 
-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- 
                 
                
      Die Gesetzesvorlage Electronic Communications Bill im UK  
verstösst gegen die Paragraphen der europäischen Konvention für  
Menschenrechte, das haben zwei führende  britische Rechtsexperten  
festgestellt. Das Gesetz sieht die zwangsweise Hinterlegung privater  
Schlüssel vor. 
 
 
 
-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-  
Mon, 25 Oct 1999 09:42:02 +0100 
 
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS BILL FAILS HUMAN RIGHTS  
AUDIT 
 
JUSTICE, the legal human rights organisation, and the Foundation for  
Information Policy Research today (Monday, 25 October) warn that  
those aspects of the Government's draft Electronic Communications  
Bill which deal with police powers to unscramble encoded e-mail are  
likely to breach human rights standards under the European  
Convention on Human Rights. 
 
The Bill-intended to encourage electronic commerce and on-line  
delivery of government services-allows the police to serve written  
notice to demand either that a communication be decrypted or the  
private encryption key be handed over. 
 
According to our Human Rights Audit of the draft Bill, which is based  
on an Opinion obtained from two leading lawyers, the Government  
has wrongly opted for the widest police powers enabling open-ended  
interception of encrypted material. The Opinion says that this "will  
have the inevitable consequence of compromising the affected  
individual's whole security and privacy apparatus" and thereby likely  
contravene Article 8 of the European Convention, on respect for  
private life. 
 
In a detailed audit of Part III of the Bill, the Opinion identifies several  
other potential human rights breaches: 
 
· The presumption of innocence is reversed: failure to comply with a  
decryption notice will be a criminal offence unless the individual  
concerned can prove that s/he does not have the key, or does not  
have access to it because, for instance, the password has been  
forgotten. This contravenes the right to a fair trial guaranteed under  
Article 6 of the European Convention. 
 
· The right to remain silent is likely to be breached: The police may  
require the addressee of a 'decryption notice' to produce a private key  
when it 'appears' that s/he has such a key; failure to produce it will  
be a criminal offence. Disclosure of the key may lead to the  
discovery of incriminating material. If used at trial, this is likely to  
infringe Article 6 of the European Convention, which includes a  
privilege against self-incrimination. 
 
· There are inadequate safeguards against abuse: There is no  
provision for independent judicial supervision of Part III as a whole, as  
required by Article 8 of the European Convention. Instead, the  
proposed Complaints Tribunal and Commissioner will only apply to  
those cases where the interception warrant has been approved by  
the Secretary of State under the 1985 Interception of  
Communications Act. 
 
Peter Noorlander, Legal Policy Officer at JUSTICE, said: 
 
"There are other, less intrusive ways of giving police access to  
encrypted material when a crime is suspected. To ensure  
compliance with human rights standards, the Government must re- 
think this part of the Bill." 
 
Caspar Bowden, Director of the Foundation for Information Policy  
Research, said: 
 
"The government is attempting to bolt decryption powers for the  
internet onto existing interception laws. This legal analysis  
demonstrates why this approach is unsound and is incompatible with  
basic human rights." 
 
Note to Editors: 
 
1. The Opinion is written by Professor Jack Beatson QC (formerly a  
Law Commissioner) and Tim Eicke, barrister, from Essex Court  
Chambers.  A full copy of the Opinion is available on the internet, at  
http://www.fipr.org/ecomm99/ecommaud.html, or from the JUSTICE  
office. 
 
2. The draft Electronic Communications Bill is included in a DTI  
consultation document, Promoting Electronic Commerce. It is  
expected to be introduced in the next parliamentary session. 
 
3. JUSTICE is conducting human rights audits of current legislation.  
Completed audits include the Immigration and Asylum Bill, Access  
to Justice Bill, Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Bill, Draft  
Freedom of Information Bill and consultation papers on Anti-terrorism  
and the Mental Health Review. In 1998, it published a major report on  
covert policing, 'Under Surveillance: Covert Policing and Human  
Rights Standards'. 
 
4. The Foundation for Information Policy Research is the UK's  
leading Internet policy think-tank, an independent non-profit  
organisation that studies the interaction between information  
technology and society. FIPR monitors technical developments with  
significant social impact, commissions research into public policy  
alternatives, and promotes public understanding and dialogue  
between technologists and policy-makers in the UK and Europe. 
 
For further information, contact Lib Peck, JUSTICE, on +44 (0)171  
762 6419, or Nicholas Bohm (FIPR legal officer) on +44 (0)1279  
871272. 
 
Relayed by 	"Caspar Bowden" cb@fipr.org  
-.-  -.-. --.-   
Nennen Sie die schlimmsten Abhörer, Tracker, Spitzelfirmen, Dataminer beim 
Namen und reichen Sie den für die Big Brother Awards Austria 1999 ein. 
Bis 19.10., Party am 26.10. 
http://bigbrother.awards.at
                   
-.-. --.- -.-. --.-  -.-. --.-  -.-. --.-  -.-. --.-  -.-. --.-
    
                 
- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- 
                
edited by Harkank 
published on: 1999-10-25 
comments to office@quintessenz.at
                   
                  
                    subscribe Newsletter
                  
                   
                
- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- 
                
                  <<  
                   ^ 
                    >> 
                
                
               | 
             
           
         | 
         | 
        
          
         |