Office of Public Sector Information
Section 9.
1 (1) The Tribunal shall consist of not less than three or more than five members each of whom shall be—
(a) a person who has a 10 year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the [1990 c. 41.] Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;
(b) an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least ten years' standing; or
(c) a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland of at least 10 years' standing.
(2) The members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by Her Majesty by Royal Warrant.
(3) A member of the Tribunal shall vacate office at the end of the period of five years beginning with the day of his appointment but shall be eligible for re-appointment.
(4) A member of the Tribunal may be relieved of office by Her Majesty at his own request.
(5) A member of the Tribunal may be removed from office by Her Majesty on an Address presented to Her by both Houses of Parliament.
2 (1) Her Majesty may by Royal Warrant appoint as President or Vice-President of the Tribunal a person who is, or by virtue of that Warrant will be, a member of the Tribunal.
(2) If at any time the President of the Tribunal is temporarily unable to carry out the functions of the President under this Schedule, the Vice-President shall carry out those functions.
(3) A person shall cease to be President or Vice-President of the Tribunal if he ceases to be a member of the Tribunal.
3 The functions of the Tribunal in relation to any complaint shall be capable of being carried out, in any place in the United Kingdom, by any two or more members of the Tribunal designated for the purpose by their President; and different members of the Tribunal may carry out functions in relation to different complaints at the same time.
4 (1) It shall be the duty of every member of the Intelligence Service or, as the case may be, GCHQ to disclose or give to the Tribunal such documents or information as they may require for the purpose of enabling them to carry out their functions under this Act.
(2) Subject to paragraph 6(2) below, the Tribunal shall carry out their functions under this Act in such a way as to secure that no document or information disclosed or given to the Tribunal by any person is disclosed without his consent to any complainant, to any person (other than the Commissioner) holding office under the Crown or to any other person; and accordingly the Tribunal shall not, except in reports under paragraph 6(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to this Act, give any reasons for a determination notified by them to a complainant.
(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) above, the Tribunal may determine their own procedure.
5 (1) The Secretary of State shall pay to the members of the Tribunal such remuneration and allowances as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine.
(2) The Secretary of State shall defray such expenses of the Tribunal as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine.
6 (1) The Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Tribunal and with the approval of the Treasury as to numbers, provide the Tribunal with such staff as he thinks necessary for the proper discharge of their functions.
(2) The Tribunal may authorise any member of their staff to obtain any documents or information on the Tribunal’s behalf.
7 (1) In Part II of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 24.] House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (bodies whose members are disqualified) there shall be inserted at the appropriate place— “The Tribunal established under section 9 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994”.
(2) The same amendment shall be made in Part II of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 25.] Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975.
Section 10(4).
1 (1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, a member of the Committee shall hold office for the duration of the Parliament in which he is appointed.
(2) A member of the Committee shall vacate office—
(a) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Commons;
(b) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Lords;
(c) if he becomes a Minister of the Crown; or
(d) if he is required to do so by the Prime Minister on the appointment, in accordance with section 10(3) of this Act, of another person as a member in his place.
(3) A member of the Committee may resign at any time by notice to the Prime Minister.
(4) Past service is no bar to appointment as a member of the Committee.
2 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, the Committee may determine their own procedure.
(2) If on any matter there is an equality of voting among the members of the Committee, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
(3) The Chairman may appoint one of the members of the Committee to act, in his absence, as chairman at any meeting of the Committee, but sub-paragraph (2) above shall not apply to a chairman appointed under this sub-paragraph.
(4) The quorum of the Committee shall be three.
3 (1) If the Director-General of the Security Service, the Chief of the Intelligence Service or the Director of GCHQ is asked by the Committee to disclose any information, then, as to the whole or any part of the information which is sought, he shall either—
(a) arrange for it to be made available to the Committee subject to and in accordance with arrangements approved by the Secretary of State; or
(b) inform the Committee that it cannot be disclosed either—
(i) because it is sensitive information (as defined in paragraph 4 below) which, in his opinion, should not be made available under paragraph (a) above; or
(ii) because the Secretary of State has determined that it should not be disclosed.
(2) The fact that any particular information is sensitive information shall not prevent its disclosure under sub-paragraph (1)(a) above if the Director-General, the Chief or the Director (as the case may require) considers it safe to disclose it.
(3) Information which has not been disclosed to the Committee on the ground specified in sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i) above shall be disclosed to them if the Secretary of State considers it desirable in the public interest.
(4) The Secretary of State shall not make a determination under sub-paragraph (1)(b)(ii) above with respect to any information on the grounds of national security alone and, subject to that, he shall not make such a determination unless the information appears to him to be of such a nature that, if he were requested to produce it before a Departmental Select Committee of the House of Commons, he would think it proper not to do so.
(5) The disclosure of information to the Committee in accordance with the preceding provisions of this paragraph shall be regarded for the purposes of the 1989 Act or, as the case may be, this Act as necessary for the proper discharge of the functions of the Security Service, the Intelligence Service or, as the case may require, GCHQ.
4 The following information is sensitive information for the purposes of paragraph 3 above—
(a) information which might lead to the identification of, or provide details of, sources of information, other assistance or operational methods available to the Security Service, the Intelligence Service or GCHQ;
(b) information about particular operations which have been, are being or are proposed to be undertaken in pursuance of any of the functions of those bodies; and
(c) information provided by, or by an agency of, the Government of a territory outside the United Kingdom where that Government does not consent to the disclosure of the information.
Intelligence Services Act 1994