|  | <<  
             ^ 
              >> 
            
              | 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
 - -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
 <<  
                   ^ 
                    >>
 |  |  |  |