Mutiny Act 1852
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1852 c. 7 |
| Year | 1852 |
(15 & 16 Vict.) C A P. VII.
[20th April 1852]
[This Act is the same, except as to Dates and the Contents of it here inserted, as 14 & 15 Vict. c. 6.]
'WHEREAS the raising or keeping a Standing Army within the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland in Time of Peace, unless it be with the Consent of Parliament, is against Law: And whereas it is adjudged necessary by Her Majesty, and this present Parliament, that a Body of Forces should be continued, for the Safety of the United Kingdom, the Defence of the Possessions of Her Majesty's Crown, and the Preservation of the Balance of Power in Europe , and that the whole Numberof such Forces should consist of One hundred and one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven Men, exclusive of the Officers and Men belonging to the Regiments employed in the Territorial Possessions of theEast India Company, but including the Officers and Men of the Troops and Companies recruiting for those Regiments: And whereas no Man can be forejudged of Life or Limb, or subjected in Time of Peace to any kind of Punishment within this Realm, by Martial Law, or in any other Manner than by Judgment of his Peers and according to the known and established Laws of this Realm; yet nevertheless it being requisite, for the retaining all the before-mentioned Forces in their Duty, that an exact Discipline be observed, and that Soldiers who shall mutiny or stir up Sedition, or shall desert Her Majesty's Service, or be guilty of Crimes and Offences to the Prejudice of good Order and Military Discipline, be brought to a more exemplary and speedy Punishment than the usual Forms of the Law will allow:' Be it therefore enacted, &c.
VII General Courts-martial.
VII. A General Court-martial convened inSaint Helena , the Settlements on the Western Coast of Africa, Honduras, New Zealand , the Australian Colonies, Hong Kong , and the Settlements on the Coast of China , and Prince of Wales Island, Singapore , and Malacca , shall consist of not less than Five Commissioned Officers; if convened in Jamaica, Newfoundland, Bermuda , the Bahamas , the Cape of Good Hope or other Settlements in Southern Africa , or in any Part out of the Queen's Dominions, excepting the Ionian Islands and the Parts before mentioned, it shall consist of not less than Seven, and if convened in any other Part of the Queen's Dominions, or in the Ionian Islands , or in the Settlements of the East India Company, it shall consist of not less than Thirteen Commissioned Officers, and shall have Power to sentence any Officer or Soldier to suffer Death, Transportation, or any other Punishment which shall accord with the Provisions of this Act.
VIII District or Garrison Courts-martial.
VIII. A District or Garrison Court-martial shall consist of not less than Seven Commissioned Officers, except inBermuda , the Bahamas , the Cape of Good Hope or other Settlements in Southern Africa, Saint Helena, Jamaica, Honduras, Newfoundland, New Zealand , the Australian Colonies, the Windward and Leeward Islands, British Guiana, Hong Kong , and the Settlements on the Coast of China , where it may consist of not less than Five Commissioned Officers, and in the Settlements on the Western Coast of Africa , where it may consist of not less than Three Commissioned Officers; and such Court-martial shall have the same Power as a General Court-martial to sentence any Soldier to such Punishments as shall accord with the Provisions of this Act: Provided always, that such Court-martial shall not have Power to try a Commissioned Officer, nor to pass any Sentence of Death or Transportation.
XIV Proceedings at Trial.
XIV. In all Trials by Court-martial, as soon as the President and other Officers appointed to serve thereon shall be assembled, their Names shall be read over in the Hearing of the Prisoner, who shall thereupon be asked if he objects to being tried by the President or by any of such Officers; and if the Prisoner shall then object to the President, such Objection shall be referred to the Decision of the Authority by whom such President shall have been appointed; but if he object to any Officer other than the President, such Objection shall be decided by the President and the other Officers so as aforesaid appointed to form the Court; and when the Place of the President or other Officer in respect of whom any Challenge shall have been made and allowed shall be supplied by some Officer in respect of whom no Challenge shall have been made or allowed, or if no Challenge whatever shall have been made, or, if made, not allowed, the President and the other Officers composing a General Court-martial shall take the Oaths in the Schedule to this Act annexed before the Judge Advocate General or his Deputy, or Person officiating as Judge Advocate, and on Trials by other Courts-martial before the President of such Court, who are hereby respectively authorized to administer the same, and any sworn Member may administer the Oath to the President; and as soon as the said Oaths shall have been administered to the respective Members, the President of the Court is hereby authorized and required to administer to the Judge Advocate, or the Person officiating as such, the Oath in the Schedule to this Act annexed; and no Proceeding or Trial shall be had upon any Offence but between the Hours of Eight of the Clock in the Morning and Four in the Afternoon, except in Cases which require an immediate Example, and except in theEast Indies , where such Proceedings or Trial may be had between...
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