Armed Forces Act 1966

15 Taking into custody persons arrested or likely to be arrested by overseas authorities.

(1) A person who is subject to service law and is detained in the custody of a civil or service authority of a country outside the United Kingdom in connection with an offence punishable under the law of that country may, if he is handed over by the authority, be taken into naval, military or air force custody under this section in accordance with subsection (3) below and kept in such custody.

(2) Where a person who is subject to service law is in a country outside the United Kingdom and it appears to an officer not below the rank of lieutenant-commander or a military or air-force officer of corresponding rank or an officer below that rank in command of one of Her Majesty's ships.—

(a) that the arrest of that person by a civil or service authority of that country in connection with an offence against the law of that country is imminent; or

(b) that, if a request made by a civil or service authority of that country for the arrest, in accordance with a power exercisable by members of Her Majesty's forces, of that person in connection with such an offence is not complied with, that person is likely to be arrested by that authority ;

that person—

(i) may be arrested by that officer, irrespective of that officer's rank; or

(ii) may, if that officer so requires, be arrested in accordance with the next following subsection ;

and a person arrested under this section may be kept in naval, military or air-force custody under this section.

(3) A person may be taken into custody under subsection (1) above or arrested by virtue of subsection (2)(ii) above by a person described in section 45 of the [1957 c. 53.] Naval Discipline Act 1957, section 74 of the [1955 c. 18.] Army Act 1955 or section 74 of the [1955 c. 19.] Air Force Act 1955 who would thereunder have power to arrest him if he had committed an offence under Part I of the said Act of 1957 or against any provision of Part II of the Army Act 1955 or Part II of the Air Force Act 1955 ; and the powers conferred by this subsection may be exercised either personally or by ordering into naval, military or air force custody or, as the case may be, arrest the person to be taken into custody or arrested or by giving orders for his being taken into custody or arrested.

For the purposes of this subsection a member of one service whom it is proposed should be taken into custody or arrested by a member of another service shall be treated as holding corresponding rank in that other service to the rank held by him.

(4) For the purpose of trial for, or an investigation into, the offence in connection with which a person is in custody under this section, that person.—

(a) if he is so in custody by virtue of subsection (1) above-may, at the request of the authority by whom he was handed over in accordance with that subsection, be handed back to that authority ; or

(b) if he is so in custody by virtue of subsection (2) above, may, at the request of the authority whose apparent intention it was to arrest that person, or, as the case may be, whose request for his arrest was the occasion of his arrest under that subsection, be handed over to that authority.

(5) A person in custody by virtue of this section may be retained therein notwithstanding his ceasing at any time while he is so retained to be subject to service law.

(6) The Defence Council may make regulations with respect to all or any of the following matters, that is to say.—

(a) the manner in which persons may be taken into custody or arrested under this section ;

(b) the making of reports on the reasons why a person has been so taken into custody or arrested, and on the necessity for the keeping of a person in custody under this section, the persons by whom, the time at which, and the authority to whom such reports are to be made, and, in the case of reports as to the keeping -of a person in custody, the frequency with which such reports are to be made;

(c) the custody and treatment ,of persons kept in custody under this section, and their removal from one country to another; and

(d) the giving of directions, by such persons as may be specified in or determined under the regulations, with respect to all or any of the matters above mentioned.

(7) None of the following provisions (which relate to proceedings after arrest of a person under service law) shall apply to a person kept in custody by virtue of this section, that is to say, section 46 of the [1957 c. 53.] Naval Discipline Act 1957, sections 53 and 75 of the [1955 c. 18.] Army Act 1955 and sections 53 and 75 of the [1955 c. 19.] Air Force Act 1955.

(8) This section shall apply to a person to whom—

(a) any enactment contained in Part I of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 applies by virtue of section 118 of that Act (application to civilians); or

(b) Part II of the Army Act 1955 applies by virtue of section 209 of that Act (application to civilians); or

(c) Part II of the Air Force Act 1955 applies by virtue of section 209 of that Act (application to civilians),

as it applies to a person subject to the Naval Discipline Act 1957, military law or air-force law, as the case may be, but with the substitution, for the reference to section 45 of the Naval Discipline Act, of a reference to paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to that Act, for references to section 74 of the Army Act 1955 and section 74 of the Air Force Act 1955, of references to those sections as modified respectively by section 209 of the [1955 c. 18.] Army Act 1955 and section 209 of the [1955 c. 19.] Air Force Act 1955, and the omission, in subsection (3), of the words from " For the purposes of this subsection " to the end of the subsection.

(9) In this section—

• " civil authority " means a civil authority authorised by law to detain persons ;

• " corresponding rank " has the same meaning as in the Army Act 1955;

• " Her Majesty's ships " has the same meaning as in the [1957 c. 53.] Naval Discipline Act 1957 ;

• " service authority " means a naval, military or air-force authority;

• " service law " means the Naval Discipline Act 1957, military law or air-force law ;

and any reference to the keeping of a person in custody includes a reference to his being kept under open arrest.