Making International Intelligence Cooperation Accountable Hans Born, Ian Leigh, Aidan Wills DCAF DCAF a centre for security, development and the rule of law Making International Intelligence Cooperation Accountable Hans Born, Ian Leigh, Aidan Wills DCAF DCAF a centre for security, development and the rule of law Authors: Hans Born, Ian Leigh and Aidan Wills Editorial assistants: Youngchan Kim and William McDermott Designer: Alice Lake-Hammond Cover photograph: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images Cover photograph description: German intelligence service (BND) chief Gerhard Schindler arrives at the enquiry commission of the German Bundestag on the US intelligence agency NSA in Berlin, on 21 May 2015 Background cover image: polygraphus/Shutterstock.com This publication has been made possible by the generous support of the Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee. Published by: Printing Office of the Parliament of Norway Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the institutional positions of either DCAF or the Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee. Neither DCAF nor the Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee are responsible for either the views expressed or the accuracy of facts and other forms of information contained in this publication. Reproduction and translation, except for commercial purposes, are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and provided DCAF is given prior notice and supplied with a copy. ©2015 DCAF ISBN: 978-92-9222-375-5 Contents List of Boxes iii . .......................................................................................................... List of Acronyms v ...................................................................................................... Foreword ix . ............................................................................................................... Acknowledgements xi . ................................................................................................ 1. Introduction 1 . ....................................................................................................... 1.1 Relevance of the guide 2 . .................................................................................. 1.2 Aims of the guide 4 . ........................................................................................ 1.3 How little we know 5 ....................................................................................... 1.4 What this guide will cover 6 . ............................................................................. 1.5 Target audience 9 ........................................................................................... 1.6 Structure of the guide 9 . ................................................................................... 1.7 Methodology 9 . ............................................................................................... Part I: International Intelligence Cooperation 13 ............................................... 2. Nature and Scope of International Intelligence Cooperation 15 . ............................. 2.1 Introduction 15 .............................................................................................. 2.2 Conceptualising international intelligence cooperation 16 . .................................. 2.3 Taxonomy of international intelligence cooperation 18 . ........................................ 2.4 Institutions involved in international intelligence cooperation 25 . ......................... 3. Benefits and Risks of International Intelligence Cooperation 33 ............................ 3.1 Introduction 33 .............................................................................................. 3.2 Benefits of international intelligence cooperation 33 ........................................... 3.3 Risks of international intelligence cooperation 38 . ............................................... 3.4 Risks to human rights and the rule of law 40 . ...................................................... Part II: Legal Frameworks of International Intelligence Cooperation 59 . ........... 4. International Legal Standards and International Intelligence Cooperation 61 ......... 4.1 Introduction 61 .............................................................................................. 4.2 International legal basis for international intelligence cooperation 62 ................... 4.3 Types of international intelligence cooperation and international law 66 . .............. 4.4. Cooperating with legal proceedings and international investigations 75 . ................ ii Making International Intelligence Cooperation Accountable 5. Domestic Legal Framework for International Intelligence Cooperation 83 . .............. 5.1 Introduction 83 ............................................................................................... 5.2 Relevance of regulating international intelligence cooperation in domestic law 84 .. 5.3 Treatment of international cooperation in security and intelligence legislation 86 ... 5.4 Protection of information relating to international intelligence cooperation 89 ....... 5.5 Procedural safeguards and international cooperation 92 . ...................................... 5.6: Human rights safeguards 94 . ............................................................................. Part III: Accountability of International Intelligence Cooperation 105 ............... 6. Internal and Executive Controls of International Intelligence Cooperation 107 ....... 6.1 Introduction 107 ............................................................................................ 6.2 Internal controls 108 ....................................................................................... 6.3 Role of the executive 120 . ............................................................................... 7. External Oversight of International Intelligence Cooperation 131 . .......................... 7.1 Introduction 131 ........................................................................................... 7.2 Aspects of international intelligence cooperation requiring external oversight 133 . . 7.3 Approaches and methods for external oversight of international intelligence cooperation 143 . ............................................................................................ 7.4 Access to information by overseers 150 ............................................................. 7.5 Role of overseers in improving transparency of international intelligence cooperation 155 . ........................................................................................... 7.6 International cooperation between external oversight bodies 156 ......................... 8. Role of Courts in International Intelligence Cooperation 163 .................................. 8.1 Introduction 163 ............................................................................................. 8.2 Intelligence and the courts 164 ......................................................................... 8.3 Domestic courts and international intelligence cooperation 169 . .......................... 8.4 Judicial inquiries 172 . ...................................................................................... 8.5 Difficulties of challenging international intelligence cooperation in the courts 172 . 8.6 Judicial examination of intelligence cooperation 175 . .......................................... 8.7 International courts and tribunals and international intelligence cooperation 180 ... Recommendations 189 . ............................................................................................... Author Biographies 195 .............................................................................................. iii List of Boxes Box 1.1: Overview of selected possible oversight responsibilities related to international intelligence cooperation 8 ............................................................................... Box 2.1: Operation Samnite 22 .................................................................................... Box 2.2: US-German signals intelligence cooperation at bad aibling 23 . ............................. Box 2.3: UKUSA Agreement (Five Eyes) 27 . .................................................................... Box 2.4: Operation Condor 29 . ..................................................................................... Box 3.1: Curveball 39 .................................................................................................. Box 3.2: The bombing of Air India 182 and the failure to exploit international intelligence cooperation 41 ............................................................................. Box 3.3: The case of Maher Arar 44 ............................................................................... Box 3.4: The case of Ahmed Zaoui 46 ............................................................................ Box 4.1: US-Israel SIGINT memorandum 63 . ................................................................... Box 4.2: UN Security Council Resolution 1373 65 . .......................................................... Box 4.3: State responsibility and complicity in torture: The UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights 68 ...................................................................... Box 4.4: Liability for extraterritorial intelligence activities under the ECHR 72 ................... Box 4.5: Examples of joint operations and their implications in international law 74 . ......... Box 5.1: Legislative provisions authorising or requiring international cooperation 87 .......... Box 5.2: “The Tshwane Principles” and international intelligence cooperation information 91 . .............................................................................................. Box 5.3: Authorising international cooperation in the Netherlands 92 . ............................. Box 5.4: A duty to record cooperation activities: Estonia 93 . ............................................. Box 5.5: Exchanges of personal data and international intelligence cooperation 96 . .......... Box 5.6: Information exchange in Norway 97 .................................................................. Box 6.1: Summary of the Norwegian PST guidelines and practices on sending information to foreign services 110 .................................................................. Box 6.2: Summary of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service’s internal guidelines on cooperation with foreign intelligence and security services 111 . ....... Box 6.3: Examples of caveats that have been used by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service 114 . ................................................................................. iv Making International Intelligence Cooperation Accountable Box 6.4: Summary of issues to be included on services’ internal guidelines on international intelligence cooperation 119 ........................................................ Box 6.5: Provisions on protected disclosures from the Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information 121 ......................................................... Box 6.6: Ministerial guidelines on the Norwegian Intelligence Service’s disclosure of personal data to foreign services 125 . ............................................................... Box 6.7: Ministerial guidance to British intelligence officers on international intelligence cooperation where there is a risk of torture/CIDT 127 . ....................... Box 7.1: Examples of questions Norway’s EOS Committee has addressed to the Police Security Service (PST) as part of scrutiny of the Service’s international intelligence cooperation 138 ........................................................................... Box 7.2: UK Intelligence and Security Committee’s investigation on rendition (2007) 143 . .... Box 7.3: Examples of the Security Intelligence Review Committee’s reviews of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s cooperation with foreign entities (2004-2013) 144 ............................................................................................ Box 7.4: CTIVD investigation of the Dutch intelligence services’ on the processing of telecommunications data including the exchange of data with foreign services 146 .................................................................................................. Box 7.5: EOS Committee’s use of sampling during inspections 148 . .................................. Box 7.6: Methodology used by Australian Inspector General for Intelligence (IGIS) and Security in the Habib Inquiry 150 ..................................................................... Box 7.7: Access to information by overseers and the third party rule: Council of Europe recommendations 153 . .................................................................................... Box 8.1: Intelligence material and the courts: Comparing different approaches 165 ............. Box 8.2: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Basic principles for judicial and parliamentary scrutiny of the secret services 168 . ......................................... Box 8.3: Italy: Abu Omar case 170 . ................................................................................ Box 8.4: The O’Connor Commission of Inquiry into the disappearance of Maher Arar (Canada) 173 .................................................................................................. Box 8.5: Parliamentary access to state secrets: The German Federal Constitutional Court’s approach 176 .................................................................................... Box 8.6: The Binyam Mohammed case 179 . .................................................................. Box 8.7: State complicity for rendition before the European Court of Human Rights 182 . ..... Box 8.8: Inferring state responsibility: CIA “black sites” in Poland and the European Court of Human Rights 183 . ........................................................................... v List of Acronyms ACHPR – African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights AIVD – General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands ALD – Administrative Law Decisions (Australia) ARSIWA – Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts ASIO – Australian Security Intelligence Organisation AU – African Union BfV – Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution - Germany’s domestic intelligence service) BND – Bundesnachrichtendienst (Germany’s foreign intelligence service) CAT – Convention Against Torture CdB – Club of Berne CMP – Closed Material Procedures CIDT – cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment CISSA – Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa CIA – Central Intelligence Agency (US) COMSEC – communications security CSE – Communications Security Establishment (Canada) CSIS – Canadian Security Intelligence Service CTIVD - Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (the Netherlands) CUTA – Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (Belgium) DCAF – Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces DCRI – Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur (France) DDIS – Danish Defense Information Service DGSE – Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (France’s foreign intelligence service) DIA – Defense Intelligence Agency (US) DISS – Defence Intelligence and Security Service (the Netherlands) DNI – Director of National Intelligence (US) ECHR – European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR – European Court of Human Rights EOS Committee – Norwegian Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Security Services EC – European Community EP – European Parliament EU – European Union vi Making International Intelligence Cooperation Accountable EUROPOL – European Union Police Office EYP-NIS – National Intelligence Service (Greece) FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation (US) GCHQ – Government Communications Headquarters (UK) GCSB – Government Communications Security Bureau (New Zealand) GISS – General Intelligence and Security Service (the Netherlands) HQ - Headquarters HR – Human rights HRC – Human Rights Council HUMINT – Human intelligence ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICTY – International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia IIC – international intelligence cooperation IGIS – Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) IHL – International Humanitarian Law ILC – International Law Commission INTCEN – Intelligence Analysis Centre (EU) IO – international organisation IPT – Investigatory Powers Tribunal (UK) IRA – Irish Republican Army IS – Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ISC – Intelligence and Security Committee (UK) ISNU – Israeli Signals Intelligence National Unit JTAC – Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (UK) LIBE – Committee on Civil liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (European Parliament) MoU – memorandum of understanding NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO – non-governmental organisation NIA – National Intelligence Agency (South Africa) NIS – Norwegian Intelligence Service NSA – National Security Agency (US) NZ – New Zealand NZSIS – New Zealand Security Intelligence Service OAS – Organization of American States OSCE – Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PACE – Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PST – Police Security Service (Norway) List of Acronyms vii RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police SAI – Supreme Audit Institutions SGRS – Service général de renseignement et de la sécurité (Belgium) SIGINT – Signals intelligence SIS – Secret Intelligence Service (UK) SIRC – Security Intelligence Review Committee (Canada) SREL – Service de renseignement de l’Etat Luxembourgeois TDIP – Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners UK – United Kingdom UKUSA – United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement, also known as Five Eyes UN – United Nations UNSC – United Nations Security Council US – United States USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics UPR – Universal Periodic Review WMD – weapons of mass destruction WW2 – World War Two