Armed Forces Act 2006

Service compensation orders

175 Service compensation orders

(1) A service compensation order is an order that requires the offender to pay compensation for any personal injury, loss or damage resulting from—

(a) the offence of which he has been convicted; or

(b) where any other offence is taken into consideration in determining his sentence, any offence so taken into consideration.

(2) A service compensation order must be of such amount as the court considers appropriate, having regard to any evidence and to any representations that are made by or on behalf of the offender or the prosecutor.

(3) In the case of an offence of unlawfully obtaining any property (whether by stealing it, handling it or otherwise), where the property in question is recovered, any damage to the property occurring while it was out of the owner’s possession is to be treated for the purposes of this section as having resulted from the offence, however and by whomever the damage was caused.

(4) No service compensation order may be made in respect of—

(a) bereavement;

(b) funeral expenses; or

(c) loss of any other kind suffered by the dependants of a person in consequence of his death.

(5) No service compensation order may be made in respect of injury, loss or damage due to an accident arising out of the presence of a motor vehicle on a road unless—

(a) it is in respect of damage treated by subsection (3) as resulting from an offence of unlawfully obtaining any property; or

(b) it is in respect of injury, loss or damage as respects which—

(i) the offender is uninsured in relation to the use of the vehicle; and

(ii) compensation is not payable under any arrangements to which the Secretary of State is a party.

(6) Where a service compensation order is made in respect of injury, loss or damage due to an accident arising out of the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, the amount to be paid may include an amount representing the whole or part of any loss of or reduction in preferential rates of insurance attributable to the accident.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (5) a person is not uninsured in relation to the use of a vehicle if—

(a) the vehicle is in the public service of the Crown; or

(b) the use of the vehicle is exempted from insurance by section 144 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) or Article 90(2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/154 (N.I. 1)).

(8) The court must give reasons, on passing sentence, if it does not make a service compensation order in a case where it has power to do so.

(9) References in this section to “the court” are references to the court or officer sentencing the offender.

176 Service compensation orders: appeals etc

(1) A person in whose favour a service compensation order is made is not entitled to receive the amount due to him until (disregarding any power of a court to grant leave to appeal out of time) there is no further possibility of an appeal which could result in the order being varied or ceasing to have effect.

(2) Where the Supreme Court restores a conviction of a service offence, it may make any service compensation order which the court of trial could have made.

(3) Where a service compensation order has been made against any person in respect of an offence taken into consideration in determining his sentence—

(a) the order ceases to have effect if he successfully appeals against his conviction of the offence or, if more than one, all the offences, of which he was convicted in the proceedings in which the order was made;

(b) he may appeal against the order as if it were part of the sentence imposed in respect of the offence or, if more than one, any of the offences, of which he was so convicted.

177 Review of service compensation orders

(1) The appropriate court may, on the application of the person against whom a service compensation order was made, discharge the order or reduce the amount which remains to be paid; but this is subject to subsections (2) and (3).

(2) The appropriate court may exercise a power conferred by subsection (1) only at a time when (disregarding any power of a court to grant leave to appeal out of time) there is no further possibility of an appeal which could result in the order being varied or ceasing to have effect.

(3) The appropriate court may exercise a power conferred by subsection (1) only if it appears to the court—

(a) that the injury, loss or damage in respect of which the service compensation order was made has been held in civil proceedings to be less than it was taken to be for the purposes of the order;

(b) in the case of a service compensation order in respect of the loss of any property, that the property has been recovered by the person in whose favour the order was made; or

(c) that the person against whom the service compensation order was made has suffered a substantial reduction in his means which was unexpected at the time when the order was made, and that his means seem unlikely to increase for a considerable period.

(4) In this section “the appropriate court” means—

(a) if the service compensation order was awarded by an officer and subsection (5) applies, the commanding officer of the person against whom the service compensation order was made;

(b) in any other case, the Court Martial.

(5) This subsection applies if the person against whom the service compensation order was made is for the time being—

(a) subject to service law;

(b) a member of a volunteer reserve force; or

(c) a member of an ex-regular reserve force who is subject to an additional duties commitment.