R (Glenn & Co (Essex) Ltd) v Her Majesty’s Commissioners for Revenue and Customs [2011] EWHC 2998 (Admin) – Ss 8, 15 and 16 PACE.
1) magistrates should generally ensure that reasons are given for their decision at the time they issue a warrant.
2) a search warrant should be expressed clearly and identify the articles sought “so far as practicable” in the circumstances.
- a warrant may specify seizure of a computer, if reasonable grounds for believing it contained relevant material, even if it may also contain legally privileged or irrelevant material.
3) s 16(5) exists so the occupier of premises knows, before the search begins, there is lawful authority to seize the property specified in the warrant. But, relief for breach of PACE is discretionary.
4) the Court will intervene where conduct of P is perverse or malicious but, in the usual case, where there is an issue to be determined, the Court will not act to inhibit a criminal investigation.
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