The Armed Forces (Summary Hearing and Activation of Suspended Sentences of Service Detention) Rules 2009

PART 1 General

Interpretation

1.  In this Schedule, and in any provision treated by virtue of this Schedule as inserted or substituted in these Rules—

“commencement” means the beginning of 31st October 2009;

“AA 1955” means the Army Act 1955(1);

“AFA 1955” means the Air Force Act 1955(2);

“NDA 1957” means the Naval Discipline Act 1957(3);

“NSDR” means the Naval Summary Discipline Regulations (July) 2008 or the Naval Summary Discipline Regulations (February) 2009(4), as the case may be;

“the Transitional Order” means the Armed Forces Act 2006 (Transitional Provisions etc) Order 2009(5);

“naval suspended sentence” means a sentence of detention under section 43(1)(e) of NDA 1957 which has been suspended under section 90(1) of that Act, including one awarded and suspended after commencement by virtue of article 55 of the Transitional Order (award of SDA sentence where finding of guilt recorded before commencement);

“the new provisions” means the Act, the Transitional Order and these Rules.

Proven offences

2.  In these Rules, references to proven offences include—

(a) offences of which a person has been convicted by court-martial; and

(b) offences as respects which—

(i) a finding that a charge has been proved has been recorded under section 76B(7) of AA 1955 or AFA 1955; or

(ii) a finding of guilt has been recorded under section 52D(7) of NDA 1957.

Charges

3.  In these Rules, references to a charge include—

(a) a charge which by virtue of article 46 or 54(5) of the Transitional Order is regarded for the purposes of Part 5 of the Act as allocated for summary hearing; and

(b) a charge which is so regarded by virtue of having been referred to the accused’s commanding officer under section 125(2)(e) of the Act following initial allocation of the charge (or of a charge for which it was substituted or to which it was added) for Court Martial trial under article 44 or 47(2) of the Transitional Order.

Charges which may be heard summarily only with permission or by senior officer

4.  In these Rules, references to an offence within section 54(2) of the Act include an offence which by virtue of article 16 of the Transitional Order (SDA civil offences) is treated as such an offence for the purposes of section 54(1).

Delegation and subordinate commanders

5.—(1) A commanding officer shall not make a delegation under rule 3(1) in relation to a charge if a sentence awarded to the accused under AA 1955, AFA 1955 or NDA 1957 (including one awarded after commencement by virtue of article 55 of the Transitional Order) is for the time being suspended, within the meaning given by article 93 of that Order.

(2) Where—

(a) before commencement, an officer did anything which, had the new provisions been in force, would have constituted a delegation of his relevant functions in relation to a charge, and

(b) the officer did nothing before commencement which, had the new provisions been in force, would have constituted a revocation of the delegation,

the officer is to be regarded as having delegated his relevant functions in relation to the charge under rule 3(1).

(3) In this paragraph “relevant function” has the same meaning as in rule 3.

Preliminary steps taken before commencement

6.  Where—

(a) an act was done before commencement, and

(b) had the new provisions been in force when the act was done, the act would have been done in accordance with any provision of rules 5, 6, 8, 9, 10(1) to (5), 31, 32 and 33(1) to (5),

the act is to be regarded for the purposes of these Rules as having been done in accordance with that provision, at the time when it was in fact done.

(1)

1955 c. 18.

(2)

1955 c. 19.

(3)

1957 c. 53.

(4)

These Regulations are made by the Defence Council under sections 43, 52E and 52F of NDA 1957 and published in the Manual of Naval Law.

(5)

S.I. 2009/1059.