# The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 2009, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Order)
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 at sections 34 to 37 (with interpretative provisions at section 38), introduced measures which allow a court to draw such inferences as appear proper from the failure or refusal of an accused person to provide information in defined circumstances. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 1997 (“the 1997 Order”) and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 2006 (“the 2006 Order”), applied those provisions, with modifications, to proceedings set out in the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (“the Service Discipline Acts”). The Service Discipline Acts have been repealed and replaced with the Armed Forces Act 2006. This Order revokes the 1997 Order and the 2006 Order and applies, with modifications, sections 34 to 38 of the 1994 Act to the proceedings specified in article 2(2), to reflect changes in terminology and procedure under the 2006 Act.
The relevant provisions of the 1994 Act have the following effect:
Section 34 applies when an accused fails to mention facts when questioned under caution or when he is charged.
Section 35 makes provision for the effect of an accused’s silence at trial.
Section 36 applies when an accused is arrested and fails or refuses to account for objects, substances or marks (either on his person or clothing or footwear, or in the place where he is arrested, or otherwise in his possession).
Section 37 applies when an accused is arrested and fails or refuses to account for his presence at a particular place.
Section 38 is an interpretation and savings provision which relates to sections 34 to 37.
Schedule 2 to this Order, which is for ease of reference and information purposes only, reflects sections 34 to 38 of the 1994 Act as modified by Schedule 1, as they apply to the proceedings specified in article 2(2).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/990/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-and-public-order-act-1994-application-to-the-armed-forces-order-2009/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.