The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which comes into force on 1st February 1997, applies the provisions of sections 34 to 38 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which are specified in column 1 of the Schedule to the Order to the proceedings set out in article 2 of the Order. The application of the provisions is subject to the modifications set out in column 2 of the Schedule.

Section 34 makes provision for the effect of an accused’s failure to mention facts when questioned or charged.

Section 35 makes provision for the effect of an accused’s silence at trial.

Section 36 makes provision for the effect of an accused’s failure or refusal to account for objects, substances or marks.

Section 37 makes provision for the effect of an accused’s failure or refusal to account for his presence at a particular place.

In relation to each of these sections the modifications are the substitution of references to service policemen for references to constables and the omission of references to juries and to proceedings before juries. The sections will only apply to the specified proceedings after this Order comes into force.

Section 35(1) is, in addition, modified by the substitution of “representative” for “legal representative”.

Additional definitions are inserted in section 38(1) and subsections (2), (3), (5) and (6) are applied with a minor modification to subsection (3).