Explanatory note

These Rules amend the Summary Appeal Court (Army) Rules 2000 (“the principal Rules”). The principal Rules govern the procedure of the summary appeal court established by section 83ZA of the Army Act 1955, as inserted by the Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000, to hear appeals from the Army’s system of summary discipline.

Rule 10 of the principal Rules prescribes the circumstances in which there is to be a hearing of an application. By virtue of rule 9(1) of the principal Rules, this means either an application to extend the period of time for bringing an appeal or an application for leave to bring an appeal out of time. Rule 3 of these Rules amends rule 10 of the principal Rules so that there can be a hearing only in the latter case.

Under section 83ZC(1) of the Army Act 1955, a military officer is qualified for membership of the court if he has held a commission for at least two years. Under rule 23 of the principal Rules, a naval or air-force officer who has held a commission for two years is also qualified if not enough qualified military officers are available. Under rule 4 of these Rules, a military officer is qualified (despite having held a commission for less than two years) if immediately before receiving his commission he was a warrant officer of higher rank than the appellant; and a naval or air-force officer who was previously a warrant officer is similarly qualified, subject to the same condition, if not enough qualified military personnel are available.

Rule 5 amends rule 24 of the principal Rules so as to extend the circumstances in which an officer is ineligible to sit as a member of the court for the purposes of a particular appeal. It makes him ineligible if he considered the case in the role of higher authority (irrespective of either the procedural route by which it reached him or his decision upon it), or if he serves under the command of an officer who dealt with the case.

Rule 6 makes a warrant officer eligible to be nominated as a reserve member of the court under rule 25 of the principal Rules, if he is qualified for membership of the court.

Rule 7 amends rule 60 of the principal Rules so as to require the prosecuting authority to provide the court with information about the appellant’s rate of pay. Where the original punishment included forfeiture of seniority or reduction in rank, this includes information about how his pay would be affected if the court upheld that punishment or substituted some lesser forfeiture or reduction.

Rule 8 provides for transitional cases.

These Rules do not impose any costs on business.