The Armed Forces (Service Inquiries) Regulations 2008

Issue of witness notice on application to a judge advocate

13.—(1) Subject to paragraph (5), a judge advocate may issue a witness notice if he is satisfied that a person—

(a) is likely to be able to give or provide material evidence, or to produce or provide any document or other thing likely to be material evidence, for the purpose of a service inquiry,

(b) will not voluntarily attend the proceedings of the service inquiry panel or voluntarily produce or provide that document or other thing, and

(c) is a civilian subject to service discipline, or a person in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or a British overseas territory.

(2) A witness notice must require the person referred to in paragraph (1) to—

(a) attend the proceedings of the panel at a time and place stated in the witness notice, and give the evidence, or produce the document or other thing, or

(b) provide the document or other thing to the panel within a specified period.

(3) A witness notice may only be issued on an application by the president in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 2, and paragraph 2 of that Schedule shall apply to the consideration of such an application.

(4) The judge advocate who decides whether to issue a witness notice may refuse to issue the witness notice if any requirement of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 relating to the application is not met.

(5) A person may not be required to produce or provide any evidence or document if he could not be required to do so if the proceedings of the service inquiry were civil proceedings in a court in England and Wales.