Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is a secret U.S court composed of seven federal judges, established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978).

The court is responsible for issuing warrants to intelligence agencies.

The court's sessions and rulings are secret and rarely made publicly available. Although in 2003, the FISC made one of its rulings public that denied the FBI the ability to implement new rules regarding survellance. These rules were then implemented after appeal to the Foreign Intelligence Appeals Court, the only time this other court has been activated.