Section 20: Powers of the Summary Appeal Court
52.This section inserts a new section into each of the SDAs.
Subsection (1) inserts a new section 83ZG into both the Army and Air Force Acts 1955. This section provides that:
When a finding of guilt is appealed, the summary appeal court may either confirm this finding, quash it, or substitute a finding that another charge has been proved, if this alternative would have been available to the CO at the original hearing.
Where the court does quash a finding, the court shall also quash the punishment that went with it or, in the case of a number of findings, the punishments that went with each of the individual findings. Where the punishment relates to a number of findings, one or more of which is quashed but with some remaining, the court may vary the overall punishment. This is provided that the substituted punishment is one that the CO could have awarded originally and is no more severe than the original punishment.
Where the court confirms the original finding or substitutes another, the court may vary the punishment as long as the substituted punishment is one which the CO could have awarded originally and it is no more severe than the original punishment.
On an appeal against punishment only, the court may confirm the original punishment or substitute another, as long as the substituted punishment is one which the CO could have awarded originally and it is no more severe than the original punishment.
Any substituted finding or punishment will be deemed to have been awarded by the officer who conducted the original summary trial and any substituted punishment will be treated as having been imposed at the date of the original punishment.
Subsection (2) inserts a new section 52FM into the Naval Discipline Act 1957. This section is identical in effect to that described in subsection (1) above.
