Air Force Act 1955 (repealed)

209 Application of Act to civilians.F23 U.K.

(1) Subject to the modifications hereinafter specified, where any body of the regular air force is on active service, Part II of this Act shall apply to any person who is employed in the service of that body of the force or any part or member thereof, or accompanies the said body or any part thereof, and is not subject to air-force law, [F1 the M1 Naval Discipline Act 1957] or military law apart from this section or any corresponding provisions of that Act or the M2 Army Act 1955, as the said Part II applies to persons subject to air-force law.

(2) Subject to the modifications hereinafter specified, Part II of this Act shall at all times apply to a person of any description specified in the Fifth Schedule to this Act who is within the limits of the command of any officer commanding a body of the regular air force outside the United Kingdom and is not subject to air-force law, [F1 the M3 Naval Discipline Act 1957] or military law apart from this section or any corresponding provisions of that Act or the M4 Army Act 1955, as the said Part II applies to persons subject to air-force law:

Provided that none of the provisions contained in sections twenty-four to sixty-nine of this Act shall apply to a person by virtue only of this subsection [F2 except section 29, sections 35 and 36, sections 55 to 57, and section 68 so far as it relates to those sections].

(3) The said modifications are the following:

[F3 (a) on a trial—

(i) a court-martial may award the punishment specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (h) of section 71(1) above, except that section 71(5)(a) above shall not apply to the amount of a fine;

(ii) a Standing Civilian Court established under the M5 Armed Forces Act 1976 may award any punishment authorised for such courts by section 8 of that Act; and

(iii) a court-martial or Standing Civilian Court may make any order authorised by Schedule 5A below;

(aa) any such order shall be treated as a punishment for the purposes of this Act;

(ab) paragraph 15 of Schedule 5A below shall have effect in substitution for the words in section 71(1) above from “and references in this Act” to the end;]

(b) the punishment which may be awarded where a charge is dealt with summarily shall, in the case of any offence, be a fine not exceeding [F4 £100], but no other punishment;

(c) the following provision shall have effect in substitution for subsections (2) to (4) of section seventy-four, that is to say that a person may be arrested by a provost officer, by any warrant officer or non-commissioned officer legally exercising authority under a provost officer or on his behalf, or by order of any officer of the regular air force;

F5 (d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) the provisions of this Act relating to the investigation of, and summary dealing with, offences shall save as otherwise expressly provided apply as they apply to officers and warrant officers;

(f) for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to the investigation of offences, the commanding officer shall be such officer as may be determined by or under regulations of [F6 the Defence Council] made for the purposes of this section;

[F7 (fa) a court-martial for the trial of any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above may include in place of the corresponding number of officers—

(i) if it is a general court-martial F8 . . ., not more than two persons who are in the service of the Crown and are persons such as are mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above, and

(ii) if it is a district court-martial F9 . . ., not more than one person who is in the service of the Crown and is himself a person such as is mentioned in either of those subsections,

but a person who is a member of a court-martial by virtue of this paragraph shall not be appointed the president of the court-martial;

[F10 (faa) references to the officers appointed members of a court-martial shall be construed as including references to persons who are members of a court-martial by virtue of paragraph (fa) above;]

(fb)]

F11 (g) for references in sections one hundred and thirty-one and one hundred and thirty-two of this Act to being, continuing, or ceasing to be subject to air-force law there shall be substituted references to being, continuing to be or ceasing to be in such circumstances that the said Part II applies, and subsection (3) of the said section one hundred and thirty-one shall not apply.

[F12 (3A) For the purposes of paragraph (g) of subsection (3) of this section a person shall be deemed not to have ceased to be in such circumstances as are mentioned in that paragraph if he has so ceased by reason only of one or both of the following, namely—

(a) the fact that he has ceased to be within the limits of a command within whose limits he continues to have his ordinary residence or to serve or to be employed;

(b) the fact that there has been an interruption of his residence with a family of persons whose place of residence continues to be his home.]

[F13 [F14 (3B)] In their application to any area for which Standing Civilian Courts are established under the M6 Armed Forces Act 1976—

(a) section 75(2) above shall have effect as if references to the assembling of a court-martial for a person’s trial included references to his being brought before a Standing Civilian Court;

[F15 (aa) section 83 above shall have effect as if after subsection (1) there were inserted the following subsection—

(1A) Regulations under this section may provide for sections 76 to 76C of this Act to have effect subject to such modifications as may be specified in relation to charges which may be tried by Standing Civilian Courts and which are brought against persons whom such courts may try.]

[F16 (b) section 103(1) above shall have effect as if the following paragraph were inserted after paragraph (b)—

(c) the hearing by courts-martial of appeals against findings and sentences of Standing Civilian Courts.]

(c) subsection (3) above shall have effect in relation to charges which may be tried by Standing Civilian Courts and which are brought against persons whom such courts may try, but without prejudice to its effect in relation to other charges, as if the following paragraph were substituted for paragraph (e):—

“(e) sections 76, [F17 to 76C] above shall apply as they apply to officers and warrant officers, subject to such modifications [F18 as may be specified by regulations under section 83 of this Act] and by any order under paragraph 12 of Schedule 3 to the Armed Forces Act 1976;”].

[F19 (3C) In its application to a person subject to a community supervision order under paragraph 4 of Schedule 5A to this Act, section 132 of this Act shall have effect as if subsections (3) and (3A) were omitted.]

[F20 (4) A fine awarded against any person by virtue of this section by a court-martial, a Standing Civilian Court or the appropriate superior authority, and a sum which an order under paragraph 11 of Schedule 5A below requires any person to pay shall be recoverable, in the United Kingdom or any colony, as a debt due to Her Majesty.

(4A) The registration of a financial penalty enforcement order under section 133A above shall not affect the power of recovery in a colony conferred by subsection (4) above.

(4B) Section 199 above shall appply to persons such as are mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above, as it applies to persons subject to [F21 air force law]].

[F22 (5) This section does not apply to any person to whom section 208A above applies.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of Naval Discipline Act 1957 (c. 53), s. 137(2)

F2 Words substituted by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), s. 78(4), Sch. 1 para. 1(9)(a)

F3 S. 209(3)(a)(aa)(ab) substituted for s. 209(3)(a) by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 5

F4 Words substituted by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55), Sch. 1 para. 1

F5 S. 209(3)(d) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, ss. 5, 35(2), Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 81(a), Sch. 7 Pt. I; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F6 Words substituted by S.I. 1964/488, Sch. 1 Pt. I

F7 S. 209(3)(fa) inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 9(1)

F8 Words in s. 209(3)(fa)(i) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, ss. 5, 35(2), Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 81(b), Sch. 7 Pt. I; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F9 Words in s. 209(3)(fa)(ii) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, ss. 5, 35(2), Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 81(b), Sch. 7 Pt. I; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F10 S. 209(3)(faa) inserted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 5, Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 81(c); S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F11 S. 209(3)(fb) repealed by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55), Sch. 5 Pt. II

F12 S. 209(3A) inserted by Armed Forces Act 1986 (c. 21, SIF 7:1), s. 8(1)

F13 S. 209(3A) inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 6

F14 S. 209(3A) renumbered as subsection (3B) by Armed Forces Act 1986 (c. 21, SIF 7:1), s. 8(1)

F15 S. 209(3B)(aa) inserted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 5, Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 82(2); S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F16 S. 209(3B)(b) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 5, Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 82(3); S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F17 Words in s. 209(3B)(c) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 5, Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 82(4)(a); S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F18 Words in s. 209(3B)(c) substituted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 5, Sch. 1 Pt. IV para. 82(4)(b); S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F19 S. 209(3C) inserted (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 10, Sch. 3 para. 2; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F20 S. 209(4)(4A)(4B) substituted for s. 209(4) by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 7

F21 Words substituted by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55), Sch. 1 para. 2

F22 S. 209(5) added by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), s. 72(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1957 c.53.

M2 1955 c. 18.

M3 1957 c. 53.

M4 1955 c. 18.

M5 1976 c. 52.

M6 1976 c. 52.

Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation

F23 Act: the provisions of the 1955 Acts providing for findings of courts-martial to be subject to confirmation and to revision at the direction of the confirming officer cease to have effect (1.4.1997 subject to art. 3 of the commencing S.I.) by virtue of 1996 c. 46, s. 15; S.I. 1997/304, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 2