Naval Courts-Martial (Procedure) Order, 1953
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1953/594 |
1953 No. 594
NAVY
The Naval Courts-Martial (Procedure) Order, 19531stApril 1953
2ndApril 1953
3rdApril 1953
At the Court at Windsor Castle, the 1st day of April, 1953
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas there was this day read at the Board a Report of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, dated the 13th day of March, 1953, in the words following:—
"Whereas by Order in Council of the 25th day of November, 1952, there was referred unto this Committee a Memorial of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty dated the 17th day of November, 1952, praying that the General Orders for regulating the Procedure and Practice of Naval Courts-Martial sanctioned by an Order in Council dated the 11th day of October, 1923, as amended by Orders in Council dated the 25th day of June, 1925, and the 21st day of February, 1935, may be amended. And there was likewise referred unto this Committee Revised General Orders contained in the Schedule to the said Memorial to consider the same and report their opinion to Your Majesty in Council:
"The Lords of the Committee, in obedience to the said Order of Reference have taken the said Memorial and the said Revised General Orders into consideration and Their Lordships do this day agree humbly to report to Your Majesty in Council as their opinion that the General Orders regulating the Procedure and Practice of Naval Courts-Martial as amended and set out in the Schedule annexed to this Report ought to be approved".
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, having taken the said Report into consideration, and in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by section sixty-five of the Naval Discipline Act(a), and of all other powers Her enabling, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order and it is hereby ordered as follows:—
1. The General Orders aforesaid as set out in the Schedule to this Order are hereby approved and shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 1954, or such earlier date or dates, not being earlier than the day following the day on which this Order is laid before both Houses of Parliament, as may be notified by the Admiralty in the London Gazette.
2. This Order shall come into operation on the 3rd day of April, 1953, and may be cited as the Naval Courts-Martial (Procedure) Order, 1953.
And the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are to give the necessary directions herein accordingly.
W. G. Agnew.
(a) 29 & 30 Vict. c. 109.
SCHEDULE
REVISED GENERAL ORDERS REGULATING THE PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE OF NAVAL COURTS-MARTIAL
These General Orders supersede the General Orders regulating the procedure and practice of naval courts-martial(a) as amended(b).
In these General Orders, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "the Act" mean "the Naval Discipline Act", and the words "convening authority" mean an officer having power to order courts-martial, or, when a court-martial has been ordered, the officer who ordered that particular court-martial or his successor in command.
PROCEDURE PREPARATORY TO TRIAL
2105. Application for Trial.—An application for the trial by court-martial of any person on any charge shall be made as follows. There shall be forwarded to the convening authority through the usual channels a letter, hereinafter called the circumstantial letter, reporting the circumstances on which the charge or charges are founded in the order of their occurrence, and in sufficient detail to show the real nature and extent of the offence; when words constitute the substance of the offence, they are to be fully and exactly set out. The letter is not to refer in any way to the previous character, conduct or convictions of the accused, or to contain any reference to facts prejudicial to him other than such as bear directly on the charges.
(2) Statements made by the accused in the course of enquiries or during an investigation or after he has been charged are not to be included in the circumstantial letter (unless they constitute an essential part of the alleged offence, such as in a charge of perjury). They should be forwarded as an annex to the circumstantial letter in a separate document and reference should be made in the circumstantial letter itself to the fact that such statements were made and to their inclusion in the annex.
2107. Documents to accompany Circumstantial Letter.—There shall also be forwarded at the same time as the circumstantial letter a further letter enclosing—
(a) The charge or charges drawn in accordance with the prescribed forms in the very words in which the offence is described in the section of the Naval Discipline Act or other Act under which it falls, and signed by the officer who signed the circumstantial letter. Such charges may be in addition to or substitution for charges which were put to the accused during the course of any investigation.
(b) A list of witnesses for the prosecution.
(c) A summary of evidence in support of the charges.
And when the offender is below the rank of officer:—
(d) A certified extract of all entries of offences and punishments in the Record of Offences Sheet prior to the date of the offence charged but subsequent to his joining his present ship, with his character assessed from the previous 31st December to the date of the offence with which he may be charged but excluding all consideration of that offence.
(e) A certified copy of the accused's certificate of service.
2110. Opportunity to Prepare Defence.—An accused person, for whose trial by court-martial an application has been made, shall be afforded as full an opportunity as is possible consistent with the exigencies of the Service of preparing his defence and of free communication with his witnesses or with any adviser whom he may wish to consult.
(a) S.R. & O. 1923/1291; Rev. XVI p. 735; 1923, p. 659.
(b) S.R. & O. 1925/605, 1935/138; Rev. XVI pp. 752, 754; 1925 p. 1212, 1935 p. 1258.
2111. Friend of the Accused.—Unless the person charged desires to conduct his own case, he may have a person or persons to assist him during the trial, whether an officer, legal adviser, or any other person. He may request and is to be afforded at the earliest possible moment the assistance of any officer or other person in his ship whose assistance is reasonably available. Should no such request be made or should an accused person be unable to obtain assistance, it shall be the duty, if he is an officer, of such officer as the convening authority may direct to assist him, or if he is below the rank of officer, of the Divisional Officer, the Royal Marine Officer or such other officer as the Captain may detail.
(2) Where the accused person is not otherwise legally represented and the trial is expected to give rise to complexities, the convening authority shall consider whether it is desirable to appoint as the accused's friend, subject to his consent, an officer who has undergone legal training.
DUTIES OF THE CONVENING AUTHORITY
2115. Sufficiency of Charges and Evidence.—When it is proposed to try a person on any charge, the convening authority shall not order a court-martial to assemble until he has satisfied himself that the charges are correct and sufficient, and that they are properly framed and carefully drawn up, and until he has also satisfied himself that the evidence, if uncontradicted or unexplained, will probably suffice to ensure a conviction. He shall then countersign the charge sheet to indicate his approval of the form in which the charges are to be brought and shall transmit it to the officer who is to prosecute.
2118. Documents to President.—The convening authority shall issue to the officer appointed by him to preside at the court-martial a warrant under his hand in the prescribed form, directing him to assemble a court-martial.
(2) He shall transmit to the president a copy of the charge sheet but shall not send him a copy of the circumstantial letter except when, for trials under Sections 9 or 29 of the Act, the letter contains detailed navigational data. In such cases he may send to the president a copy of the portion of the circumstantial letter containing such information. (See also 2155 (4).)
2119. Appointment of Judge Advocate and Clerk of the Court.—In the absence of the Chief Naval Judge Advocate and in default of any appointment by the Admiralty, the convening authority may, by warrant under his hand in the prescribed form, appoint a person to officiate as judge advocate at the trial, and shall send him a copy of the charge(s) and of the circumstantial letter, and any statement(s) annexed thereto, and shall forward to him (or to the president for him) in all cases a list of the officers from whom the court may be formed, the documents mentioned in Article 2107 (b) and (c), the list of persons who have been tried by court-martial or disciplinary court, or a certified extract therefrom, and in the case of the trial of a person below the rank of officer, the documents mentioned in Article 2107 (d) and (e).
(2) The convening authority may, in default of any appointment by the Admiralty, by warrant under his hand in the prescribed form, appoint a person to officiate as clerk of the court at the trial and shall forward to him (or to the president for him) a list of the officers from whom the court may be formed, a copy of the charge(s) and circumstantial letter and of the documents mentioned in Article 2107 (b) and (c).
(3) Appointment of Provost Marshal.—The convening authority, or, in his absence, the senior naval officer present, shall, by warrant under his hand in the prescribed form, appoint a provost marshal to take the accused into his custody and safely keep him until he shall have been delivered in due course of law.
(4) When to Appoint a Prosecutor.—It is the duty of the Captain of the ship to which the accused belongs in ordinary cases to act as prosecutor, but if for any reason it is undesirable or impossible for the Captain or Executive Officer of that ship...
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