Openning mail and parcels - Illegal in UK/Ireland?

Question

Is it against the law to open other people's mail or parcels in the Republic of Ireland or UK?

If yes, please provide a reference.

Answer 1

In most cases, this practice is legal as, unfortunately, British citizens are not protected by a privacy law. An act of 1985 makes the 'international interception' of communications illegal, but this is primarily aimed at unauthorised telephone tapping.

Significantly, the Post Office Act 1953 prohibits the opening of 'any postal packet' which ought to have been delivered to another person. In practice, however, this protection for private mail is limited since an offence only arises if it is opened 'wilfully and maliciously with intent to injure another person'. Needless to say, this can be very difficult to prove.

It is common for many organisations to operate a policy of opening the great majority of mail centrally, even if there is an individual addressee on the envelope. This is generally considered reasonable in the interests of efficiency (and is the practice adopted by most LEAs and by ATL's London office).

The recognised exception to this rule is mail addressed to an individual which is plainly marked 'personal'. This should be passed unopened to that person. If a school or college disregards this principle, it should be challenged - perhaps via a grievance in the first instan