Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1951

3 Right of appeal from court-martial

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, a person convicted by a court-martial may, with the leave of the Court, appeal to the Court against his conviction.

(2) Except in the case of a conviction involving sentence of death, the right conferred by the foregoing subsection on a person convicted by a court-martial shall not be exercisable—

(a) unless, within such period as may be prescribed, he presents to the appropriate authority a petition praying that his conviction be quashed ; and

(b) until either the prescribed period beginning with the day on which the petition is presented expires or he is notified by that authority that the petition has not been granted, whichever event first occurs.

(3) For the purposes of the last foregoing subsection the appropriate authority shall be—

(a) in the case of a conviction by a naval court-martial, the Admiralty; and

(b) in the case of a conviction by an army or air force court martial, the Secretary of State:

Provided that, in the case of the conviction by an army court-martial of an officer, non-commissioned officer or man of the Royal Marines or Royal Marine Forces Volunteer Reserve or the conviction by an air force court-martial of an officer, petty officer or seaman of the naval forces, the appropriate authority shall, instead of being the Secretary of State, be the Admiralty.

(4) Rules of court may provide that, in such circumstances as may be specified in the rules, any such petition as is mentioned in subsection (2) of this section which is presented to such person as may be specified in the rules shall be treated, for the purposes of that subsection, as having been presented to the appropriate authority.