Compulsory Disclosure: Perspective of the Defence

• Year: 2023
• Author: Muthupandi Ganesan

Speaker

Muthupandi Ganesan is a dual qualified lawyer, holding qualifications in both the United Kingdom and India. He is admitted to practice as a Barrister-at-Law in England and Wales, as well as a qualified Advocate in India, specifically in Tamil Nadu. With a specialization in litigation and strategy, Muthupandi focuses on cases involving cross-border issues within the fields of bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring, and international commercial arbitration.

His expertise extends to providing advice and representation to individuals and companies on a wide range of regulatory and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, directors' and shareholders' disputes. Moreover, Muthupandi possesses a specialization in the areas of anti-bribery, anti-corruption, civil and criminal asset recovery, operating under the proceeds of crime legislation across multiple jurisdictions.

Topic

This e-presentation sheds light on the concept of compulsory disclosure, which pertains to the legal requirement placed upon an individual in possession of an encrypted file's "key" to divulge either the encrypted information itself or the decryption key. The discussion will primarily revolve around the experiences and implications observed in the United Kingdom concerning compulsory disclosure, as governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) of 2000.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) is a legislative framework in the United Kingdom that grants law enforcement agencies the authority to conduct surveillance and intercept communications for the purpose of maintaining national security and preventing criminal activities. RIPA encompasses provisions that address various aspects of investigatory powers, including the area of compulsory disclosure.

Under RIPA, individuals who possess the key to an encrypted file can be legally obligated to disclose the encrypted information or provide the decryption key to relevant authorities. The intention behind this provision is to empower law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate and prevent serious crimes, such as terrorism, organized crime, and cybercrime, by overcoming the...