Legislation

The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates a limited version of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law. The convention upholds the right to be treated humanely, to liberty, to freedom of expression and to a fair trial. All public authorities must comply with the conventions, and for the purposes of the act, the term applies to any body - whether it is public or private - that carries out a public function.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 - the Government has acted to keep pace with communications technology and clarifies the powers of those engaged in surveillance activities. It has been described as providing "modern-day law enforcement tools for modern-day technologies." The Act has four main parts: the interception of communications, intrusive surveillance, human intelligence sources and the compulsory disclosure of encrypted data.

The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 - and its code of practice sets out the rules of disclosure.

This programme is intended for employees of all organisations obliged to comply with the conventions, codes of practice and laws arising from any of these three Acts.