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PART IVMiscellaneous and General

49Rules of court

(1)Rules of court made by the Lord Chief Justice with the approval of the Lord Chancellor may provide for regulating the procedure and practice to be followed in the Appeal Court and for any other matters which by this Act are expressed to be subjects for rules of court.

(2)Rules of court made for the purposes of any provision of this Act may make different provision in relation to different classes of cases and may provide, for any incidental or supplementary matters for which it appears to the Lord chief Justice to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of that provision to provide.

(3)The power under this section to make rules of court shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and the [1946 c. 36.] Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply to a statutory instrument containing rules of court made under this section in like manner as if the rules had been made by a Minister of the Crown.

(4)A statutory instrument containing rules of court made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

50Duties of registrar with respect to appeals etc.

(1)The registrar shall take all necessary steps for obtaining the determination of an appeal or application under this Act, and shall obtain and lay before the Appeal Court in proper form all documents, exhibits and other things relating to the proceedings in the court-martial by which the appellant or applicant was tried which appear necessary for the proper determination of the appeal or application.

(2)The registrar shall furnish the necessary forms and instructions relating to applications for leave to appeal under this Act to any person who demands them, to persons in charge of places where persons sentenced by court-martial may lawfully be confined for the purpose of serving their sentences and to such other persons as he thinks fit.

(3)Every person in charge of such a place as is referred to in subsection (2) above shall cause the said forms and instructions to be placed at the disposal of persons confined in that place who wish to apply for leave to appeal to the Appeal Court, or from that Court to the House of Lords.

51Legal aid

(1)The Appeal Court may at any time assign to an appellant under Part II of this Act a solicitor and counsel, or counsel only, in any appeal under that Part or proceedings preliminary or incidental thereto in which, in the opinion of the Court, it appears desirable in the interests of justice that the appellant should have legal aid and has not sufficient means to enable him to obtain that aid.

(2)In the case of an appeal to the House of Lords under Part III of this Act, subsection (1) of this section shall apply to the defendant in the proceedings from which the appeal lies (whether he is appellant or respondent in the appeal) as it applies to the appellant in an appeal under Part II of this Act.

(3)The power of the Appeal Court to grant legal aid under this section may be exercised by any judge of the Court in the same manner as it may be exercised by the Court, and subject to the same provisions; but if the judge refuses an application on the part of a person to exercise the said power in his favour, the person shall, upon making a requisition in that behalf within the prescribed period and in the prescribed fohn and manner, be entitled to have the application determined by the Appeal Court as duly constituted for the hearing and determination of appeals.

(4)If, on a question of granting a person legal aid under this section, there is a doubt whether it is desirable in the interests of justice that he should have legal aid or whether he has sufficient means to enable him to obtain it, the doubt shall be resolved in favour of granting him legal aid.

(5)Before a person is granted legal aid under this section he may be required to furnish a written statement in the prescribed form about matters relevant for determining whether his means are insufficient to enable him to obtain legal aid, and if a person in furnishing such a written statement as aforesaid (whether required to do so or not) knowingly makes any false statement or false representation he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than four months or to both.

(6)The registrar shall report to the Appeal Court or to a judge thereof any case in which it appears to him that, although no application has been made for the purpose, legal aid ought to be granted to a person under this section.

(7)A solicitor or counsel assigned to a person under this section shall be entitled to be paid by the Secretary of State such sums in respect of fees and disbursements as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Lord Chancellor.

The power of the Lord Chancellor under this subsection to make regulations shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(8)This section is hereby repealed as from the day appointed under section 106(5) of the [1967 c. 80.] Criminal Justice Act 1967 for the coming into force of Part IV of that Act (new provisions as to legal aid in criminal cases, including court-martial proceedings); and section 38(2) of the [1889 c. 63.] Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply to this repeal as if this section had been repealed by another Act.

52Removal of prisoners

Rules or regulations made under—

(a)section 79 or 82 of the Naval Discipline Act;

(b)section 121 or 122 of the Army Act;

(c)section 121 or 122 of the Air Force Act;

(d)section 47 of the [1952 c. 52.] Prison Act 1952 ;

(e)section 35 of the [1952 c. 61.] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1952; or

(f)section 13 of the [1953 c. 18 (N.I.).] Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953,

may provide in what manner an appellant, when in custody, is to be taken to, kept in custody at, and brought back from any place at which he is entitled to be present for purposes of Part II or Part III of this Act or any place to which the Appeal Court or a judge of it may order him to be taken for the purpose of any proceedings of the Court.

53Exclusion of appeals etc. in case of certain Commonwealth naval courts-martial

(1)Part II of this Act confers no right of appeal against the conviction by a naval court-martial of a person who, at the time of the conviction, was borne oh the books of a ship of the Royal Australian Navy or the Royal New Zealand Navy, not being a ship which at that time was placed at the disposal of the Defence Council.

(2)Section 34 of this Act does not apply in the case of such a conviction as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section.

54Saving for prerogative

(1)Nothing in this Act is to be taken as affecting any right of Her Majesty, by virtue of Her Royal prerogative or otherwise, to quash a conviction by court-martial, so far as regards the exercise thereof at a time before whichever of the following two events first occurs—

(a)the receipt by the registrar of an application for leave to appeal under Part II of this Act against the conviction ; or

(b)the receipt by him of particulars of such an application furnished in pursuance of section 9 of this Act.

(2)Nothing in this Act is to be taken as affecting Her Majesty's Royal prerogative of mercy.

55Modification of provisions in Parts II and III for capital cases

Schedule 2 to this Act has effect so as to modify certain provisions of this Act in relation to cases involving sentence of death y and any provision of this Act which is referred to in that Schedule and modified or restricted thereby shall have effect subject to the Schedule.

56Modification for protected prisoners of war

Schedule 3 to this Act has effect so as to modify certain provisions of this Act in relation to protected prisoners of war within the meaning of the [1957 c. 52.] Geneva Conventions Act 1957; and any provision of this Act which is referred to in that Schedule and modified or restricted thereby shall have effect subject to the Schedule.

57Interpretation

(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.—

(2)Where in connection with any proceedings or powers of the Appeal Court on appeal a provision of this Act refers to " the relevant Service Act", it is to be taken as referring to the Act under which the appellant was tried by court-martial, that is to say the Naval Discipline Act, the Army Act or the Air Force Act, as the case may be.

(3)In Part III of this Act " the accused " means, in relation to an appeal from the Appeal Court to the House of Lords, the person who was the accused in the court-martial proceedings from which the appeal lay to the Appeal Court.

(4)Any reference in this Act to another enactment is a reference thereto as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

(5)Any reference in this Act to an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland includes a reference to an enactment corresponding thereto and for the time being in force in Northern Ireland.

58Consequential amendment of enactments

The enactments specified in Schedule 4 to this Act shall be amended as shown in that Schedule.

59Transitional provisions

The transitional provisions set out in Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect.

60Repeals

The enactments specified in the second column of Schedule 6 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

61Short title and commencement

(1)This Act may be cited as the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968.

(2)This Act shall come into force on the day appointed under section 106(5) of the [1967 c. 80.] Criminal Justice Act 1967 for the coming into force of section 98 of that Act.