A civilian subject to service discipline is someone who, whilst not a member of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
or
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...
, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British or
German military law and the
military justice system.
Categories
The
Armed Forces Act 2006
The Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It came into force on 31 October 2009. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts (the Army Act 1955 (3 & 4 Eliz. 2. c. 18), ...
defines who is a civilian subject to service discipline. The main categories are:
* civilians on board a military ship when afloat, or on board a military aircraft when in flight
* civil servants working in support of the armed forces, when in a designated area (see below)
* civilians employed by
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
by reason of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's membership of NATO, when outside the
British Islands
The British Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which refers collectively to the following four polities:
* the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
* the Bailiwick of Guernsey (including the jurisdictio ...
* civilians employed by certain support organisations, when in a designated area
** The
Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...
(NAAFI)
**
Service Children's Education
Service Children's Education (SCE) was an organisation of the United Kingdom government responsible for the education of the children of British Armed Forces families and Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel serving outside of the United Kingdo ...
** The
Services Sound and Vision Corporation
The Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) was a British registered charity.
Set up in 1982 from the merger of the Services Kinema Corporation (SKC) and the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to "entertain and inform Britain's Ar ...
(SSVC)
** The
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association - Forces Help
* civilians living with or staying with a service person or other civilian subject to service discipline, when in a designated area
* others designated by the
Defence Council, for example contractors deployed on operations
Designated areas
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civil servants, employees of support organizations and civilians living with or staying with either of those:
[See ]
*
Brunei
Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
*
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
*
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
*
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
*
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
*
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
*
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civilians living with or staying with a service person:
*
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
* Brunei
* Falkland Islands
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Saudi Arabia
*
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
*
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
* The
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...
*
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
*
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
These definitions will therefore include, for example, family members living with a soldier stationed in Germany.
Civilians subject to service discipline may be tried in the
Service Civilian Court or by the
Court Martial
A 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 members of the mili ...
(although the Court Martial will be made up of civilian, not military, members).
Comparison with other countries
The list of civilians who are subject to service discipline is more extensive than in some other countries—for example, in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, civilian spouses, dependents, and guests of military personnel are not included in the list of people subject to that country's
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...
.
[ 10 U.S.C.br>§ 802]
/ref>
See also
* Offences against military law in the United Kingdom
The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.
The offences fall into two main categories, discipline offences and criminal conduct offences. A second distinction is between those offences ...
References
{{reflist
German military law
United Kingdom military law