Overseeing Intelligence Services - DCAF

222 Pages·2012·1.83 MB·English

Overseeing
Intelligence Services
A Toolkit
Edited by Hans Born and Aidan Wills
DCAF
DCAF a centre for security,
development and
the rule of law
Overseeing
Intelligence Services
A Toolkit
Edited by Hans Born and Aidan Wills
DCAF
DCAF a centre for security,
development and
the rule of law
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) is an international
foundation whose mission is to assist the international community in pursuing good
governance and reform of the security sector. The Centre develops and promotes
norms and standards, conducts tailored policy research, identifies good practices and
recommendations to promote democratic security sector governance, and provides in-
country advisory support and practical assistance programmes.
Published by DCAF, Geneva
11 Rue de Chantepoulet
Geneva – 1201
Switzerland
www.dcaf.ch
Designer: Alice Lake-Hammond, www.alicelakehammond.com
Language editor: Agincourt Press
Cover photograph: Hans Kouwenhoven
This publication has been made possible by the generous support of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed in this toolkit are those of the authors of individual tools and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, or the institutional positions of either
DCAF or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Neither DCAF nor the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands are responsible for either the views expressed or the
accuracy of facts and other forms of information contained in this publication.
ISBN: 978-92-9222-222-2
© 2012 DCAF
i

Contents
List of Tables and Boxes .............................................. v
DCAF Foreword ...................................................... ix
Foreword ............................................................. xi
Acknowledgements ................................................. xiii
Tool 1: Introducing Intelligence Oversight .......................... 3
Hans Born and Gabriel Geisler Mesevage
1. Introduction ............................................................................3
2. What Is intelligence oversight? ........................................................6
3. Why is intelligence oversight important? ........................................... 18
4. Good practices ........................................................................ 19
5. Recommendations .................................................................... 20
Tool 2: Establishing Effective Intelligence Oversight Systems ....25
Stuart Farson
1. Introduction .......................................................................... 25
2. Transition states ...................................................................... 26
3. Effective oversight ................................................................... 27
4. Approaches to oversight ............................................................. 28
5. Impediments to effective oversight ................................................. 38
6. Designing legal and institutional frameworks for an oversight system ........... 40
7. Recommendations .................................................................... 42
ii Overseeing Intelligence Services: A Toolkit
Tool 3: Intelligence Transparency, Secrecy, and Oversight in a
Democracy ...........................................................49
Laurie Nathan
1. Introduction .......................................................................... 49
2. The problem of transparency and secrecy in intelligence oversight ............... 50
3. Legislation on protection of and access to information ............................ 54
4. The information needs of parliament ............................................... 56
5. The information needs of specialized intelligence oversight bodies .............. 59
6. Recommendations .................................................................... 64
Tool 4: Conducting Oversight .......................................69
Monica den Boer
1. Introduction .......................................................................... 69
2. Reasons for conducting intelligence oversight ..................................... 70
3. Oversight mandates .................................................................. 70
4. Oversight powers ..................................................................... 72
5. Oversight methods ................................................................... 73
6. Oversight timing ..................................................................... 74
7. Oversight investigations ............................................................. 75
8. Organizing oversight ................................................................. 77
9. Professionalism and credibility of oversight bodies ................................ 78
10. Conduct of oversight bodies ........................................................ 79
11. Reporting ............................................................................ 80
12. Potential findings ................................................................... 82
13. Recommendations .................................................................. 83
Tool 5: Overseeing Information Collection .........................89
Lauren Hutton
1. Introduction .......................................................................... 89
2. Information collection sources and methods ....................................... 89
3. Impact of information collection on human rights ................................. 90
4. Legal frameworks for information collection ....................................... 93
5. Authorization of information-collection operations ................................ 95
6. Oversight of information-collection operations .................................... 97
7. Conclusion ........................................................................... 100
8. Recommendations ................................................................... 100
Contents iii
Tool 6: Overseeing the Use of Personal Data ..................... 105
Ian Leigh
1. Introduction ......................................................................... 105
2. Risks of personal data usage by intelligence services ............................. 106
3. Legal framework for use of personal data by intelligence services ............... 107
4. The role of oversight bodies ........................................................ 118
5. Recommendations ................................................................... 121
Tool 7: Overseeing Information Sharing .......................... 129
Kent Roach
1. Introduction ......................................................................... 129
2. Information sharing ................................................................. 130
3. Overseeing information sharing with foreign agencies ........................... 134
4. Overseeing information sharing with domestic agencies ......................... 139
5. Recommendations ................................................................... 142
Tool 8: Financial Oversight of Intelligence Services ............. 151
Aidan Wills
1. Introduction ......................................................................... 151
2. The importance of financial oversight of intelligence services ................... 152
3. Intelligence budgets ................................................................ 155
4. Internal financial controls and audit mechanisms ................................. 157
5. Parliamentary oversight ............................................................. 160
6. Supreme audit institutions ......................................................... 166
7. Recommendations ................................................................... 174
Tool 9: Handling Complaints about Intelligence Services ....... 181
Craig Forcese
1. Introduction ......................................................................... 181
2. Bringing complaints ................................................................. 182
3. Venues for complaints .............................................................. 185
4. Complaint-handling procedures and the control of information .................. 190
5. Remedies ............................................................................ 192
6. Recommendations ................................................................... 193
List of Contributors ................................................ 201

v

List of Tables and Boxes
Tool 1: Introducing Intelligence Oversight .......................... 1
Table 1: Overview of the Tools ...........................................................5
Table 2: Oversight bodies and their key responsibilities .................................8
Box 1: The duty of intelligence offi cers to report illegal activity in Bosnia and
Herzegovina ................................................................... 10
Box 2: The Australian Inspector General of Intelligence and Security ............... 12
Box 3: The Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee ............ 16
Box 4: The United Nations compilation of good practices on intelligence
oversight ...................................................................... 19
Tool 2: Establishing Effective Intelligence Oversight Systems ....23
Box 1: Limits to the mandate of the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on
Intelligence and Security ...................................................... 32
Box 2: The mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Review Committee ..... 36
Tool 3: Intelligence Transparency, Secrecy, and Oversight in a
Democracy.................................................... 47
Box 1: Avoiding inappropriate classifi cation of information ......................... 56
Box 2: Publication of intelligence budgets and fi nancial reports .................... 59
Box 3: Protecting sensitive information in fi nancial audits .......................... 59
Box 4: Legislative provisions on access to information by parliamentary oversight
committees .................................................................... 61
Box 5: Dealing with sensitive information in court proceedings .................... 63
vi Overseeing Intelligence Services: A Toolkit
Tool 4: Conducting Oversight ........................................ 67
Box 1: The Dutch parliamentary inquiry into special investigative measures:
a case study in thematic oversight ............................................ 76
Box 2: Elements of a basic inspection plan .......................................... 78
Box 3: Additional tasks for a detailed inspection plan ............................... 78
Tool 5: Overseeing Information Collection ......................... 87
Box 1: Application requirements for judicial authorizations in Canada ............. 96
Box 2: Parliamentary oversight of information collection in Germany ............... 98
Box 3: Belgium’s Standing Intelligence Agencies Review Committee ................ 99
Box 4: Germany’s G10 Commission ................................................... 99
Tool 6: Overseeing the Use of Personal Data ..................... 103
Box 1: The “quality of law” test in practice .......................................... 110
Table 1: Council of Europe data protection principles ................................ 111
Box 2: Limits on the processing of personal data in selected jurisdictions ......... 113
Box 3: Prohibiting improper disclosure of personal data in Romania............... 113
Box 4: The duty to disclose information concerning databanks under Canadian
law ............................................................................ 114
Box 5: The right of access to personal data held by intelligence services under
Dutch law ..................................................................... 115
Box 6: Access to personal data held by intelligence services: good practice
identifi ed by the UN special rapporteur ...................................... 116
Box 7: The duty to notify data subjects under German law ......................... 117
Box 8: Regular assessments of data held by intelligence services: good practice
identifi ed by the UN special rapporteur ...................................... 117
Box 9: The duties to review, correct, and erase personal data under German law .. 118
Table 2: Characteristics of independent external oversight bodies ................... 119
Box 10: Denmark’s Control Committee on Police and Military Intelligence
Services (Wamberg Committee) .............................................. 120
Box 11: Sweden’s Commission on Security and Integrity Protection ................. 121
Tool 7: Overseeing Information Sharing .......................... 127
Box 1: Ad hoc Canadian inquiries into information sharing ......................... 133
Box 2: An ad hoc British inquiry into information sharing .......................... 134
Box 3: Oversight of foreign information sharing by the Dutch Review Committee
on the Intelligence and Security Services .................................... 138
Box 4: Review of domestic information sharing by an inquiry into Australian
intelligence services ......................................................... 142
List of Tables and Boxes vii
Tool 8: Financial Oversight of Intelligence Services ............. 149
Box 1: The case of Kyle Foggo....................................................... 154
Box 2: South African law on accounting offi cers .................................... 158
Box 3: Financial reporting under New Zealand law ................................. 160
Box 4: Congressional scrutiny and approval of US intelligence service budgets ... 162
Box 5: The Confi dential Committee of the German Bundestag ..................... 163
Box 6: The role of the UK Intelligence and Security Committee in ex post review . 165
Box 7: Germany’s Federal Court of Audit ............................................ 168
Box 8: Performance auditing in Canada ............................................. 170
Box 9: Powers of the South African auditor general ................................ 171
Tool 9: Handling Complaints about Intelligence Services ....... 179
Table 1: Best practices checklist on complaint handling ............................. 196