Judgment Approved by the court for handing down. Davis & Ors v SSHD “Communications data has played a significant role in every Security Service counter-terrorism operation over the last decade. It has been used as evidence in 95 per cent of all serious organised crime cases handled by the Crown Prosecution Service. And it has played a significant role in the investigation of many of the most serious crimes in recent time, including the Oxford and Rochdale child grooming cases, the murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and the murder of Rhys Jones. It can prove or disprove alibis, it can identify associations between potential criminals, and it can tie suspects and victims to a crime scene.” 16. Similarly, in his March 2015 Report, the Interception of Communications Commissioner, Sir Anthony May, explained: “My inspectors identified that communications data was frequently relied on to provide both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence. The communications data acquired revealed suspects movements and tied them to crime scenes. It often led to other key evidence being identified or retrieved. Links to previously unidentified offenders and offences were revealed. Dangerous offenders were located and offences were disrupted with the assistance of communications data. Patterns of communication provided evidence of conspiracy between suspects. The data highlighted inconsistencies in accounts given by suspects and corroborated the testimony of victims. The data determined the last known whereabouts of victims and persons they had been in contact with. Similarly, communications data assisted to eliminate key suspects or highlighted inconsistencies in accounts given by victims.” EU legislation on data retention The Data Protection Directive 17. Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (“the Data Protection Directive”) contained provisions designed to ensure the free movement of personal data between Member States and to protect individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular their right to privacy. 18. Article 3(2) provided that the Directive did not apply to the processing of personal data which fell outside the scope of Community law, and in any case to processing operations concerning public security, defence, State security (including the economic wellbeing of the State when the processing operation relates to State security matters) and the activities of the State in areas of criminal law. 19. Article 13(1) preserved the right of Member States to enact domestic provisions to restrict the scope of the obligations and rights set out in the Directive where necessary