Ms Fiona Crowley:

Amnesty International would not point to any one state as a model of excellent practice. However, there are lots of examples of really poor practice, and the states that are engaging with their national populations on disclosures regarding the levels of personal data that are being captured have shown quite a lot of weaknesses. At a minimum, there should be both judicial oversight and parliamentary engagement. It would be optimal to have some sort of parliamentary committee that engages with the national intelligence and security service functions. However, whenever I hear the term "national security", the phrase "happy hunting ground" springs to mind. The Dick Marty inquiry into secret detentions and conditions in 2005 referred to Europe as a happy hunting ground for foreign secret services. It was reported that no state has any idea of what other states are doing in its territory and consequently, I do not believe that anybody really knows what is the best practice in this regard.