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Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021

Consolidated Text As Enacted Cited authorities 77 Cited in Amendments 8 Related
JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation2021 c. 23
Year2021
apply the principle set out in section 2, andcomply with section 3.whether or not proceedings should be brought against a person for a relevant offence, orwhether or not any proceedings against a person for a relevant offence should be continued,a member of the regular or reserve forces, or a member of a British overseas territory force to whom section 369(2) of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (persons subject to service law) applies, anddeployed on overseas operations.(4) The second condition is that the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the alleged conduct took place has expired.(5) If the offence is alleged to have continued over a period of days, the 5 year period mentioned in subsection (4) is to be taken to begin with the last of those days.(6) In this Part “overseas operations” means any operations outside the British Islands, including peacekeeping operations and operations for dealing with terrorism, civil unrest or serious public disorder, in the course of which members of Her Majesty's forces come under attack or face the threat of attack or violent resistance.
  • The principle referred to in section 1(1) is that it is to be exceptional for a relevant prosecutor making a decision to which that section applies to determine that proceedings should be brought against the person for the offence or, as the case may be, that the proceedings against the person for the offence should be continued.
    • (1) In making a decision to which section 1 applies, a relevant prosecutor must give particular weight to the matters set out in subsection (2) (so far as they tend to reduce the person's culpability or otherwise tend against prosecution) .the adverse effect (or likely adverse effect) on the person of the conditions the person was exposed to during deployment on the operations mentioned in section 1(3) (b) , including their experiences and responsibilities (for example, being exposed to unexpected or continuous threats, being in command of others who were so exposed, or being deployed alongside others who were killed or severely wounded in action) ;in a case where there has been a relevant previous investigation and no compelling new evidence has become available, the public interest in finality (as regards how the person is to be dealt with) being achieved without undue delay.(3) In considering the matter in subsection (2) (a) , the prosecutor must have regard to the exceptional demands and stresses to which members of Her Majesty's forces are likely to be subject while deployed on overseas operations, regardless of their length of service, rank or personal resilience.an adverse effect on their capacity to make sound judgements or exercise self control, orany other adverse effect on their mental health,was carried out by an investigating authority,has ceased to be active, andeither did not lead to any decision as to whether or not the person should be charged with an offence, or led to a decision that the person should not be charged with any offence.is not “new” if it has been taken into account in the relevant previous investigation (or in any of them) ;otherwise, is “new”.the condition in subsection (4) is met in relation to potential proceedings against a person for a relevant offence, andthe period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the alleged conduct took place has expired.(2) If the offence is a service offence, no proceedings may be instituted against the person for the offence under the Armed Forces Act 2006 except with the consent of the Attorney General.where the offence is punishable with

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