Army Act 1955 (repealed)

195 Unlawful purchase, etc. of military stores.F3 U.K.

(1) Any person who, whether within or without Her Majesty’s dominions, acquires any military stores orsolicits or procures any person to dispose of any military stores, or acts for any person in the disposingof any military stores, shall be guilty of an offence against this section unless he proves either—

(a) that he did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know, that the chattels in question weremilitary stores, or

(b) that those chattels had (by the transaction with which he is charged or some earlier transaction) beendisposed of by order or with the consent of [F1 the Defence Council] or of some person or authority who had, or whom he had reasonable cause to believe to have, power togive the order or consent, or

(c) that those chattels had become the property of an officer who had retired or ceased to be an officer,or of a warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier who had been discharged, or of the personalrepresentatives of a person who had died.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence against this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a finenot exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both sucha fine and such imprisonment, or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding five hundred poundsor imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such a fine and such imprisonment.

[F2 (3) A constable may seize any property which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting of having been thesubject of an offence against this section.]

(4) Any person having authority to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person charged with crime may, ifsatisfied by evidence on oath that a person within his jurisdiction has, or is reasonably suspected ofhaving, in his possession any property which has been the subject of an offence against this section, granta warrant to search for such property as in the case of stolen goods; and any property suspected of havingbeen the subject of such an offence which is found on such a search shall be seized by the officer chargedwith the execution of the warrant, and that officer shall bring the person in whose possession or keepingthe property is found before a court of summary jurisdiction.

(5) In this section—

• the expression “acquire” means buy, take in exchange, take in pawn or otherwise receive (whether apartfrom this section the receiving is lawful or not);

• the expression “dispose” means sell, give in exchange, pledge or otherwise hand over (whether apart fromthis section the handing over is lawful or not);

• the expression “military stores” means any chattel of any description belonging to Her Majesty, which hasbeen issued for use for military purposes or is held in store for the purpose of being so issued whenrequired, and includes any chattel which had belonged, and had been issued or held, as aforesaid at somepast time.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section property shall be deemed to be in the possession ofa person if he has it under his control, and whether he has it for his own use or benefit or for the useor benefit of another.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by S.I. 1964/488, Sch. 1 Pt. I

F2 S. 195(3) substituted by Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60, SIF 95),s. 119(1),Sch. 6 Pt. I para. 8 (E.W.) and by S.I. 1989/1341 (N.I.12), art. 90(1), Sch. 6 para. 4

Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation

F3 Act: the provisions of the 1955 Acts providing for findings of courts-martial to be subject to confirmation and to revision at the direction of the confirming officer cease to have effect (1.4.1997 subject to art. 3 of the commencing S.I.) by virtue of 1996 c. 46, s. 15; S.I. 1997/304, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 2