Rule 2 Interpretation

In these Rules—

• “the Act” means the Naval Discipline Act 1957;

• “the 2003 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 2003;

• “the board” means those members of the court-martial other than the judge advocate;

• “commanding officer”, in relation to an accused, means the officer who is for the time being in command of the ship, unit or establishment to which the accused belongs;

• “commencement of the trial” shall be construed in accordance with rule 57;

• “the judge advocate”—

  1. (i)

     in relation to a court-martial, means the judge advocate appointed by or on behalf of the Judge Advocate General to be a member of the court-martial;

  2. (ii)

     in relation to a preliminary hearing, means the judge advocate appointed by or on behalf of the Judge Advocate General to conduct any such proceedings;

• “legal representative” means a person appointed to represent an accused at any proceedings before a court-martial, providing he is—

  1. (i)

     a person who has a general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990^f1;

  2. (ii)

     an advocate or a solicitor in Scotland;

  3. (iii)

     a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland; or

  4. (iv)

     a person having in any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a Commonwealth country or British overseas territory rights and duties similar to those of a barrister or solicitor in England and Wales, and subject to punishment or disability for breach of professional rules;

• “live television link” means an arrangement by which a person (when not in the place where the hearing is being held) is able to see and hear, and to be seen and heard by, the court during a hearing (and for this purpose any impairment of eyesight or hearing is to be disregarded);

• “preliminary charge” means the charge which would have been dealt with summarily had the accused not elected court-martial trial;

• “preliminary hearing” shall be construed in accordance with rule 33;

• “the president of the board” shall be construed in accordance with rule 52;

• “the prosecuting authority” means the prosecuting authority or any prosecuting officer or other person appearing on his behalf;

• “prosecution papers” shall be construed in accordance with rule 9; and

• “special finding” shall be construed in accordance with rule 74.