Air Force Act 1955 (repealed)

70 Civil offences.F17 F18 U.K.

(1) Any person subject to air-force law who commits a civil offence, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, shall be guilty of an offence against this section.

(2) In this Act the expression “civil offence” means any act or omission punishable by the law of England or which, if committed in England, would be punishable by that law; and in this Act the expression “the corresponding civil offence” means the civil offence the commission of which constitutes the offence against this section.

[F1 (2A) For the purpose of determining under this section whether an attempt to commit an offence is a civil offence, subsection (4) of section 1 of the M1 Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (which relates to the offence of attempt) shall have effect as if for the words “offence which, if it were completed, would be triable in England and Wales as an indictable offence” there were substituted the words “civil offence consisting of an act punishable by the law of England and Wales as an indictable offence or an act which, if committed in England or Wales, would be so punishable by that law”.]

(3) [F2 Subject to s. 71A below,] A person convicted by court-martial of an offence against this section shall—

F3 (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F4 (aa) if the corresponding civil offence is one for which the sentence is fixed by law as life imprisonment, be sentenced to imprisonment for life;]

(b) in any other case, be liable to suffer any punishment or punishments which a civil court could award for the corresponding civil offence, if committed in England, being a punishment or punishments provided by this Act, or such punishment, less than the maximum punishment which a civil court could so award, as is so provided:

F5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F6 (3A) Where the corresponding civil offence is one to which [F7 section 109, 110 or 111 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000] would apply, the court-martial shall impose the sentence required by subsection (2) of that section unless it is of the opinion that there are exceptional circumstances which justify its not doing so.]

(4) A person shall not be charged with an offence against this section committed in the United Kingdom if the corresponding civil offence is treason, murder, manslaughter, treason-felony F8 ... [F9 or an offence under section 1 of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 ]... [F10 or an offence under section 1 of the M2 Biological Weapons Act 1974] [F11 or an offence under section 2 or 11 of the Chemical Weapons Act 1996] [F12 or an offence under section 51 or 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001] [F13 or an offence under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (rape)].

[F14 In this and the following subsection the references to murder shall apply also to aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring suicide.]

(5) Where the corresponding civil offence is murder or manslaughter [F15 , or an offence under section 1 of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 or section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 consisting of the killing of a person,]. . ., an offence against this section shall be deemed, for the purposes of the last foregoing subsection, to have been committed at the place of the commission of the act or occurrence of the neglect which caused the death, irrespective of the place of the death.

[F16 (6) A person subject to air-force law may be charged with an offence against this section notwithstanding that he could on the same facts be charged with an offence against any other provision of this Part of this Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 70(2A) inserted by Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c. 47), s. 7(1)

F2 Words inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 10(3)(a)

F3 S. 70(3)(a) repealed (11.5.2001) by 2001 c. 19, s. 38, Sch. 7 Pt. 4

F4 S. 70(3)(aa) substituted (1.10.2001) for s. 70(3)(aa)(ab) by 2001 c. 19, s. 34, Sch. 6 Pt. 6 para. 33(2); S.I. 2001/3234, art. 2

F5 Proviso repealed by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), s. 78(4), Sch. 4 Pt. I

F6 S. 70(3A) inserted (E.W.) (1.10.1997 for specified purposes) by 1997 c. 43, ss. 55(1), 57(2), Sch. 4 para. 2(1); S.I. 1997/2200, art. 2(1)(l)(2)(a)

F7 Words in s. 70(3A) substituted (25.8.2000) by 2000 c. 6, ss. 165(1), 168(1), Sch. 9 para. 13

F8 Words in s. 70(4) repealed (1.5.2004) by Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42), s. 141, Sch. 6 para. 10(a), Sch. 7; S.I. 2004/874, art. 2

F9 Words in s. 70(4) inserted (1.9.2001) by 2001 c. 17, s. 74(2)(a) (with ss. 56(2), 63(2), 78); S.I. 2001/2161, art. 2

F10 Words inserted by Biological Weapons Act 1974 (c. 6), s. 5(1)

F11 Words in s. 70(4) inserted (16.9.1996) by 1996 c. 6, s. 35(b); S.I. 1996/2054, art. 2

F12 Words in s. 70(4)(5) inserted (13.6.2001 for certain purposes and 1.9.2001 otherwise) by 2001 c. 17, ss. 74(2)(3); S.I. 2001/2161, arts. 2, 3 (as amended by S.I. 2001/2304, art. 2)

F13 Words in s. 70(4) inserted (1.5.2004) by Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42), s. 141, Sch. 6 para. 10(b); S.I. 2004/874, art. 2

F14 Words added by Suicide Act 1961 (c. 60), Sch. 1 Pt. II

F15 Words in s. 70(5) inserted (1.9.2001) by 2001 c. 17, s. 74(3) (with ss. 56(2), 63(2), 78); S.I. 2001/2161, art. 2

F16 S. 70(6) added by Armed Forces Act 1971 (c. 33), ss. 34(1)(2), 78(4)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 70 amended by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 7(4)

C2 S. 70 modified (E.W.) (1.10.1997) by 1997 c. 43, s. 7(1); S.I. 1997/2200, art. 2(1)(f)

S. 70 amended (1.10.1997 for specified purposes) by 1997 c. 43, ss. 55(2), 57(2), Sch. 4 para. 2(1); S.I. 1997/2200, art. 2(1)(m)

Marginal Citations

M1 1981 c. 47.

M2 1974 c. 6.

Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation

F17 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

F18 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)