Armed Forces Act 1996
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Armed Forces Act 1996 CHAPTER 46 LONDON: HMSO Armed Forces Act 1996 CHAPTER 46 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Continuance of Services Acts Section 1. Continuance of Services Acts. Terms and conditions of service 2. Enlistment or entry for local service. 3. Discharge certificates. 4. Mode of making regulations relating to enlistment etc. Trial and punishment of offences under Services Acts 5. Procedure for dealing with offences under Services Acts. 6. Abrogation of common law corroboration rules. 7. Evidence from children. 8. Findings of unfitness to stand trial and insanity. 9. Postponement of sentences of courts-martial. 10. Community supervision orders. Fingerprints and samples 11. Fingerprinting of certain offenders. 12. Taking of samples from certain offenders. Rehabilitation of service offenders 13. Application of Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. 14. Application of Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978. Review and appeal 15. Abolition of confirmation. 16. Review of findings and sentences. 17. Appeals against sentence. 18. Powers exercisable by registrar. 19. Appeals on behalf of deceased persons. c. 46 Armed Forces Act 1996 Redress of complaints Section 20. Services redress of complaints procedures. Complaints to industrial tribunals 21. Sex discrimination: Great Britain. 22. Sex discrimination: Northern Ireland. 23. Racial discrimination. 24. Equal treatment: Great Britain. 25. Equal treatment: Northern Ireland. 26. Other complaints: Great Britain. 27. Other complaints: Northern Ireland. Miscellaneous 28. Exemptions from Firearms Act 1968. 29. Exemptions from Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. 30. Greenwich Hospital. 31. Grants for preservation of Royal Naval College site. 32. Offences connected with services drug testing programmes. 33. Application of Visiting Forces Act 1952. Supplemental 34. The 1955 Acts and the 1957 Act. 35. Minor and consequential amendments and repeals. 36. Short title, commencement and application to Channel Islands and Isle of Man. SCHEDULES: Schedule 1—Procedure for dealing with offences under Services Acts. Part I—Summary disposal of offences. Part TI—The prosecuting authority. Part ITT—Trial of offences by court-martial. Part TV—Minor and consequential amendments. Schedule 2—Findings of unfitness to stand trial and insanity. Schedule 3—Community supervision orders. Schedule 4—Schedule to be inserted in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Schedule 5—Review of findings and sentence. Schedule 6—Minor and consequential amendments. Schedule 7—Repeals. Part I—Repeals relating to changes to procedure for dealing with offences under Services Acts. Part Il—Repeals relating to abolition of confirmation. Part Ill—Other repeals. ELIZABETH II c. 46 Armed Forces Act 1996 1996 CHAPTER 46 An Act to continue the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957; to amend those Acts and other enactments relating to the armed forces; to make further provision in relation to proceedings before service courts; to provide for the taking of fingerprints and samples from offenders convicted in service proceedings; to amend the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968; to make further provision in relation to complaints to industrial tribunals by members of the armed forces; to provide for further exemptions from the Firearms Act 1968; to make further provision in relation to Greenwich Hospital; to amend the Visiting Forces Act 1952; and for connected purposes. [24th July 1996] E IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and B Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— Continuance of Services Acts 1.—(l) The 1955 Acts and the 1957 Act shall (instead of expiring on Continuance of 31st August 1996) expire on 31st August 1997 unless continued in force Services Acts. in accordance with this section. (2) Subject to subsection (3) below, Her Majesty may from time to time by Order in Council provide for the 1955 Acts and the 1957 Act to continue in force for a period not exceeding 12 months beyond the day on which they would otherwise expire. (3) The 1955 Acts and the 1957 Act may not be continued under subsection (2) above beyond the end of the year 2001. (4) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty in Council to make an Order under subsection (2) above unless a draft of the Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament. 2 c. 46 Armed Forces Act 1996 Terms and conditions of service Enlistment or 2.—(1) In section 2(1) of the Armed Forces Act 1966 (regulations as to entry for local engagement of persons in the regular services), after paragraph (i) there service, shall be inserted the following paragraphs— 1966 c. "(j) enabling a person to restrict his service to service in a particular area; (k) requiring a person who has restricted his service to service in a particular area to serve outside that area for a number of days in any year not exceeding the maximum number provided for by the regulations." (2) In section 2(1A) of that Act, after the words "Northern Ireland" there shall be inserted the words "by virtue of regulations made under subsection (1)(i) above". Discharge 3.—(1) In section 11(4) of the 1955 Acts and paragraph 5(7) of Schedule certificates. 7 to the Army Act 1955 (certificates of discharge), for the words from 1955 c. 18. "such particulars" to the end there shall be substituted the words "the following particulars, namely— (a) his name, rank and service number; (b) his reserve liability (if applicable); and (c) the reason for his discharge and the date of discharge, together with any other particulars which are required to be included in the certificate by directions of the Defence Council or an officer authorised by them." (2) In section 6(3) of the Armed Forces Act 1966 (certificates of discharge) for the words from "such particulars" to the end there shall be substituted the words "the following particulars, namely— (a) his name, rating and service number; (b) his reserve liability (if applicable); and (c) the reason for his discharge and the date of discharge, together with any other particulars which are required to be included in the certificate by directions of the Defence Council or an officer authorised by them." Mode of making 4.—( 1) In section 22 of the 1955 Acts (regulations as to enlistment), the regulations existing provision shall be numbered subsection (1) and after that relating to subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection— enlistment etc. "(2) Any power conferred by this Part of this Act to make regulations (including the power under paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to this Act) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament." (2) In Part I of Schedule 7 to the Army Act 1955 (application of Part I to marines), after paragraph 10 there shall be inserted the following paragraph— "bA. Subsection (2) of section 22 applies to the powers to make regulations conferred by this Part of this Schedule as it applies to other powers under Part I of this Act." Armed Forces Act 1996 c. 46 3 (3) In section 14 of the Armed Forces Act 1966 (interpretation of Part 1966 45. II), after subsection (2) there shall be added the following subsection-—- "(3) Any power to make regulations conferred on the Defence Council by any provision of this Part of this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament." (4) This section does not affect the validity of any regulations made under the 1955 Acts or the Armed Forces Act 1966 which are in force immediately before the commencement of this section. Trial and punishment of offences under Services Acts 5. Schedule 1 (amendment of provisions relating to the procedure for Procedure for dealing with offences under the 1955 Acts and the 1957 Act) shall have dealing with effect. offences under Services Acts. 6.—(1) For the avoidance of doubt section 32 of the Criminal Justice Abrogation of and Public Order Act 1994 (abolition of corroboration rules) and section common law 34(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (abrogation of requirements for corroboration corroboration warning) apply to any service disciplinary proceedings in rules. which the rules abrogated by those sections would have been applied. 1994 c. 33. 1988 c. 33. (2) Nothing in this section shall be taken as affecting the determination of any question as to the law applicable to service disciplinary proceedings before the commencement of this section. (3) In this section "service disciplinary proceedings" means proceedings for any offence taking place under the 1955 Acts or the 1957 Act and proceedings on appeal to the Courts-Martial Appeal Court. 7. In Schedule 13 to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (application of Evidence from provisions of that Act to courts-martial etc.), after paragraph 8 there shall children. be added the following paragraphs— "Video recordings of evidence 9.—(1) The Secretary of State may by order direct that section 32A above shall have effect in relation— (a) to proceedings before Service courts; or (b) to proceedings, or proceedings of specified descriptions, before Service courts in specified places, subject to such modifications as may be specified in the order. (2) The power to make an order conferred by this paragraph shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and a statutory instrument containing any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament. (3) Without prejudice to the generality of any enactment conferring power to make procedural instruments, procedural instruments may make such provision as appears to the authority making them to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of section 32A above in their application to proceedings such as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above by virtue of an order under that sub- paragraph.