Robust surveillance legislation and effective intelligence oversight can serve as bulwarks against the erosion of fundamental rights in our democracies. Unfortunately, national governments regularly need to be admonished for flaws in their intelligence laws by national or regional courts. Rightly, courts demand more rigorous and effective oversight mechanisms. Yet, given the rapid evolution and the complexity of surveillance technology, what should effective oversight look like in actual practice? Courts will not design oversight institutions or prescribe specific accountability mechanisms. This is the important task of democratic governance that needs to be administered elsewhere. This compendium by Thorsten Wetzling and Kilian Vieth invites regulatory authorities, oversight bodies and civil society to look beyond national borders and be inspired by the good practices that exist in other countries.
