The Court Martial (Prosecution Appeals) Order 2009

General right of appeal in respect of rulings

4.—(1) This article applies where a judge advocate makes a ruling in relation to trial proceedings at an applicable time and the ruling relates to one or more of the charges being tried.

(2) The Director may appeal in respect of the ruling in accordance with this article.

(3) The ruling is to have no effect whilst the Director is able to take any steps under paragraph (4).

(4) The Director may not appeal in respect of the ruling unless following the making of the ruling he—

(a) informs the court that he intends to appeal; or

(b) requests an adjournment to consider whether to appeal and, if such an adjournment is granted, informs the court following the adjournment that he intends to appeal.

(5) Where the ruling relates to two or more charges—

(a) any one or more of those charges may be the subject of the appeal; and

(b) if the Director informs the court in accordance with paragraph (4) that he intends to appeal, he must at the same time inform the court of the charge or charges which are the subject of the appeal.

(6) Where—

(a) the ruling is a ruling that there is no case to answer, and

(b) the Director, at the same time that he informs the court in accordance with paragraph (4) that he intends to appeal, nominates one or more other rulings which have been made by the judge advocate in relation to the trial proceedings at an applicable time and which relate to the charge or charges which are the subject of the appeal,

that other ruling, or those other rulings, are also to be treated as the subject of the appeal.

(7) The Director may not inform the court in accordance with paragraph (4) that he intends to appeal, unless, at or before that time, he informs the court that he agrees that, in respect of the charge or each charge which is the subject of the appeal, the accused in relation to that charge should be acquitted of that charge if either of the conditions mentioned in paragraph (8) is fulfilled.

(8) Those conditions are—

(a) that leave to appeal to the Court Martial Appeal Court is not obtained; and

(b) that the appeal is abandoned before it is determined by the Court Martial Appeal Court.

(9) If the Director informs the court in accordance with paragraph (4) that he intends to appeal, the ruling mentioned in paragraph (1) is to continue to have no effect in relation to the charge or charges which are the subject of the appeal whilst the appeal is pursued.

(10) If and to the extent that a ruling has no effect in accordance with this article—

(a) any consequences of the ruling are also to have no effect;

(b) the judge advocate may not take any steps in consequence of the ruling; and

(c) if he does so, any such steps are also to have no effect.

(11) Where the Director has informed the court of his agreement under paragraph (7) and either of the conditions mentioned in paragraph (8) is fulfilled, the judge advocate or the Court Martial Appeal Court must order that the accused in relation to the charge or each charge concerned be acquitted of that charge and, where appropriate, that he be released from custody.

(12) In this article “applicable time”, in relation to particular trial proceedings, means any time after the commencement of those trial proceedings and before the time when the judge advocate starts his summing-up to the lay members of the court.