The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the

Armed Forces Act 2006 The Armed Forces Act 2006 (c 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into force on 31 October 2006. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts (the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipli ...

. The offences fall into two main categories, discipline offences and criminal conduct offences. A second distinction is between those offences that can be dealt with by a

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

in a summary hearing, and those that can only be heard by the

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

Discipline offences

Discipline offences are those offences that can only be committed by members of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

or, in a few cases, by a

civilian subject to service discipline A civilian subject to service discipline is someone who, whilst not a member of the British Armed Forces, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British military law and the military justice system. Categories The Armed Forces Act 2006 ...

. The table below lists the principal discipline offences, and indicates for each offence: * whether it can be committed by a civilian subject to military discipline as well as a service person * whether a commanding officer can deal with the offence at a summary hearing (though if the offender is a civilian subject to service discipline, it must be heard by the Service Civilian Court) * the maximum sentence available to a Court Martial trying the offence. The maximum punishment that a Commanding Officer hearing a charge summarily can impose is generally 28 days in service detention, or up to 90 days with the authority of a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

or equivalent. ''Note:

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c.53) of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively mi ...

only applies to the sentences of 2.5 years or less.''

Criminal conduct offences

The military offence of criminal conduct covers anything done anywhere in the world that, if done in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, would be against the civilian

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

. A Commanding Officer can deal with some criminal conduct offences committed by a service person at a summary hearing, including: *

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

* taking a vehicle without consent * possession of a

controlled drug The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary law, sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the Recreational drug use, recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to p ...

criminal damage Property damage (or cf. criminal damage in England and Wales) is damage or destruction of Real property, real or tangible Personal property, personal property, caused by negligence, Willful violation, willful destruction, or Act of God, act of na ...

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

careless driving Driving without due care and attention or careless driving is a legal term for a particular type of moving traffic violation in the United States, Canada (at least in Ontario), the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It is often punishable by fines or en ...

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

* dangerous or careless cycling Some more serious offences can be dealt with summarily with the permission of a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

or equivalent: * assault causing

actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and th ...

* possession of an offensive weapon in a public place *

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

* dishonestly obtaining services Criminal conduct offences committed by a

(such as a contractor or civil servant supporting operations) are dealt with by the Service Civilian Court if they could be tried by a

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

in England and Wales. More serious offences, whether committed by a service person or a civilian subject to service discipline, must be tried by the

. The maximum punishment that can be imposed for criminal conduct is the same as could be imposed by the appropriate civilian court, the Magistrates' Court for minor offences, or the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

for serious (

indictable In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

) offences.

Punishments

The punishments that can be imposed on a convicted service person are: * imprisonment (in a civilian prison). Offenders are automatically dismissed with disgrace. * dismissal with disgrace * dismissal * detention in a military facility for two years or less (not officers). Offenders sentenced to detention are also automatically reduced in rank to an ordinary soldier, sailor or airman, and forfeit their pay for the period they are in detention. * forfeiture of seniority (officers only) * demotion by one rank (

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

s or

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s only) * fine of up to 28 days' pay * service community order (only used in conjunction with dismissal, with or without disgrace) * reprimand or severe reprimand (officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers only). This will have an effect on future career prospects. * service supervision and punishment order (ordinary soldiers, sailors, airmen only). This order, which may be in place for up to 90 days, includes forfeiture of one-sixth of pay and loss of leave, and may also include additional duties, and being prevented from using some facilities (e.g. leisure facilities). * minor punishments: ** loss of leave (non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers etc. only) ** restriction of privileges (ordinary soldiers etc. only). This requires the offender to perform additional duties each day for up to 14 days. ** admonition (ordinary soldiers etc. only). This is recorded on the offenders' service record. * service compensation order. Requires the payment of compensation for personal injury or damage to property. Amounts of likely compensation payable range from £50 for a graze or severe bruise, to £3,000 for a fractured limb. *Being placed on the

Violent and Sex Offender Register In the United Kingdom, the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) is a database of records of those required to register with the police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the 2003 Act), those jailed for more than 12 months for violent offences ...

for any period, including life. A civilian convicted by a military court may be sentenced to one of the following punishments:Schedule 3 of the Act * imprisonment (in a civilian prison) * fine * service community order * overseas community order * conditional or absolute discharge * service compensation order *Being placed on the

for any period, indefinitely.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offences Against Military Law In The United Kingdom United Kingdom military law Courts-martial in the United Kingdom

Discipline offences

Criminal conduct offences

Punishments

See also

References