Air Force Act 1955 (repealed)

138 Restitution or compensation for theft, etc. F10 F11 U.K.

(1) The following provisions shall have effect where a person has been convicted by court-martial of unlawfully obtaining any property, whether by stealing it, [F1 handling it], F2 , or otherwise [F3 or where a person has been convicted of any offence by a court-martial and the court has taken such an offence of unlawfully obtaining property into consideration in sentencing him.]

(2) If any of the property unlawfully obtained has been found in the possession of the offender, it may be ordered to be delivered or paid to the person appearing to be the owner thereof.

(3) If there has been found in the possession of the offender any property (other than money) appearing to have been obtained by him by the conversion or exchange of any of the property unlawfully obtained, the property may be ordered to be delivered to the person appearing to be the owner of the property unlawfully obtained.

(4) Where money is found in the possession of the offender, then whether or not it appears to have been obtained as aforesaid an order may be made that there shall be paid out of that money to the person appearing to be the owner of the property unlawfully obtained such sum as may be specified in the order as or towards compensation for the loss caused to the said person by the offence, in so far as not otherwise made good under this Act or by the recovery of the property unlawfully obtained.

(5) Where any of the property unlawfully obtained has been sold or given in pawn to some other person who did not then know it to have been unlawfully obtained, an order may be made that, subject to the restitution to the owner thereof of the property sold or given as aforesaid, there shall be paid to the said other person, out of any money found in the possession of the offender (whether or not the money appears to be proceeds of the sale or giving in pawn), such sum as may be specified in the order as or towards compensation for the loss caused to him in consequence of the sale or giving in pawn.

(6) Where any of the property unlawfully obtained has been given in exchange to some other person who did not then know it to have been unlawfully obtained, an order may be made that, subject to the restitution to the owner thereof of the property given as aforesaid, there shall be restored to the said other person the property taken in exchange for the property unlawfully obtained.

(7) An order under this section may be made by the court-martial by whom the offender is convicted, F4 . . . or by any reviewing authority; and in this section the expression “appearing” means appearing to the court, F4 . . . or authority making the order.

(8) F5 . . . The provisions of this Part of this Act as to the F5 . . . review of the proceedings of courts-martial shall apply to an order under this section as they apply to a sentence.

(9) The operation of any order under this section shall be suspended—

(a) in any case, until the expiration of the period prescribed under [F6 Part II of the M1 Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968], as the period within which an application for leave to appeal to the Courts-Martial Appeal Court against [F7 a relevant conviction] must be lodged; and

(b) if such an application is duly lodged, until either the application is finally refused or is withdrawn or the appeal is determined or abandoned;

and where the operation of such an order as aforesaid is suspended under this section—

(c) it shall not take effect if the conviction is quashed on appeal;

(d) the Courts-Martial Appeal Court may by order annul or vary the order although the conviction is not quashed;

(e) such steps shall be taken for the safe custody, during the period during which the operation of the order is suspended, of the property ordered to be restored or handed over or the money to which the order relates as may be provided by rules of court made under [F6 Part II of the said Act of 1968].

(10) Notwithstanding anything in the last foregoing subsection, an order under this section shall not, so far as it relates to the delivery of property to the person appearing to be the owner thereof, be suspended if the court, F8 . . . or authority making the order directs to the contrary in any case in which, in the opinion of the court, F8 . . . or authority, the title to the property is not in dispute.

(11) An order under this section shall not bar the right of any person, other than the offender or a person claiming through him, to recover any property delivered or paid in pursuance of such an order from the person to whom it is delivered or paid.

[F9 (12) In this section “relevant conviction” means—

(a) where an order under this section was made as a result of a conviction of such an offence of unlawfully obtaining property as is mentioned in subsection (1) above, that conviction; or

(b) where an order under this section was made as a result of such an offence of unlawfully obtaining property having been taken into consideration in determining sentence, the conviction or, if more than one, each conviction in respect of which the sentence fell to be determined.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Theft Act 1968 (c. 60), Sch. 2 Pt. II

F2 Words repealed by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), s. 78(4), Sch. 4 Pt. I

F3 Words added by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 14, Sch. 7 para. 1(1)

F4 Words in s. 138(7) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 35(2), Sch. 7 Pt. II; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F5 Words in s. 138(8) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 35(2), Sch. 7 Pt. II; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F6 Words substituted by Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968 (c. 20), Sch. 4

F7 Words substituted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 14, Sch. 7 para. 1(2)

F8 Words in s. 138(10) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1996 c. 46, s. 35(2), Sch. 7 Pt. II; S.I. 1997/304, art. 2 (with art. 3, Sch. 2)

F9 S. 138(12) added by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 14, Sch. 7 para.1(3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 138 extended with modifications by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 3 paras. 1(2), 17

C2 S. 138(9) modified by Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968 (c. 20), s. 46(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 1968 c. 20.

Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation

F10 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

F11 Act repealed (1.1.2008 for the repeal of s. 180 only, 1.10.2008 for the repeal of ss. 135-137 and 28.3.2009 for further specified purposes) by Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), s. 383(2), Sch. 17; S.I. 2007/2913, art. 3 (with art. 4(1)(2)); S.I. 2008/1650, art. 2(e) (with art. 3); S.I. 2009/812, art. 3(a)(b) (with transitional provisions in S.I. 2009/1059)