Part 9: Miscellaneous and general provisions Chapter 1: Miscellaneous Section 254: Approval of notices by Judicial Commissioners
This section sets out the test to be applied by Judicial Commissioners when deciding whether to approve the Secretary of State’s decision to give a national security notice or a technical capability notice. The Judicial Commissioner must review the Secretary of State’s conclusions regarding the necessity of the notice and the proportionality of the conduct required by the notice, applying the same principles as would be applied by a court on an application for judicial review. The Judicial Commissioner must consider a decision with a sufficient degree of care as to ensure the Commissioner complies with the duties imposed by section 2.
	Should a Judicial Commissioner refuse to approve the Secretary of State’s decision to give a notice, subsection (4) requires the Judicial Commissioner to provide written reasons for the refusal. Where a Judicial Commissioner has refused to approve a notice, subsection (5) allows the Secretary of State to ask the IPC to decide whether to approve the decision to give a notice.