Armed Forces Act 2006

265 Dismissal: general restrictions

(1) A court may not pass a sentence of dismissal or dismissal with disgrace in respect of an offence unless it is of the opinion that the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it, was serious enough to warrant such a sentence.

(2) In forming any such opinion as is mentioned in subsection (1), a court must take into account all such information as is available to it about the circumstances of the offence and any associated offence, including any aggravating or mitigating factors.

(3) The Court Martial must not pass a sentence of dismissal or dismissal with disgrace on an offender who is not legally represented in that court.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if the offender, having been informed of his right to apply for legal representation and having had the opportunity to do so, refused or failed to apply.

(5) For the purposes of this section an offender is “legally represented” in the Court Martial only if he has the assistance of counsel or a solicitor to represent him in the proceedings in that court at some time after he is found guilty and before he is sentenced.