Data Retention Act ruling welcomed by the Law Society of Scotland

Responding to today’s High Court ruling that the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) is illegal, Tim Musson, convener of the Law Society of Scotland's Privacy Law Committee said: “This is a welcome judgment by the High Court.   A year ago this legislation was fast-tracked through Parliament in a matter of days and we raised serious concerns at the time that it was not being subjected to the appropriate levels of parliamentary scrutiny and debate that good law demands. 

“The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)  had already ruled that the European Directive that DRIPA was based on was invalid, so we questioned how DRIPA itself could be legal.  This decision by the High Court, whilst subject to possible appeal, sets out the clear position in EU law and upholds the precedent set by the CJEU.”

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Louise Docherty louisedocherty@lawscot.org.uk 0131 476 8204

Notes to Editors

The Date Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 is based on Directive 2006/24/EC. The CJEU ruling which rules this directive illegal can be found at http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf?doclang=EN&docid=150642