The Armed Forces (Alignment of Service Discipline Acts) Order 2008

Suspended sentences of military and air-force courts-martial

6.—(1) Section 120ZA of each of the 1955 Acts (activation of suspended sentence: appeals) is modified as follows.

(2) Where a court-martial made an order under the old section 120(5)—

(a) subsections (2) to (4) apply, subject to the modifications made by paragraphs (b) to (d) below, as if the order had been made under section 120(5) as substituted by this Order;

(b) in subsection (2)(b)—

(i) the reference to an appeal against the sentence passed in respect of the new offence includes an appeal brought before commencement; and

(ii) the reference to an application for leave to appeal against that sentence includes an application made before commencement;

(c) in subsection (2)(c)—

(i) the reference to an appeal against the order includes an appeal brought before commencement; and

(ii) the reference to an application for leave to appeal against the order includes an application made before commencement; and

(d) in subsections (3)(b) and (4), the references to a direction under section 120(5B) include a direction given under the old section 120(5) that the two sentences there mentioned were to run consecutively.

(3) Where a court-martial passing sentence on a person before commencement could have determined the suspension of an earlier sentence under the old section 120(5) but did not do so, subsections (6) and (7) have effect as if—

(a) the reference in subsection (6)(a) to the suspended sentence were to the earlier sentence; and

(b) in subsection (6)(b), for “a direction under section 120(5B) of this Act in relation to the order” there were substituted “a direction that the earlier sentence shall begin to run from the end of another term of imprisonment or detention passed on the person by the court-martial or the Appeal Court”.

(4) Where a court-martial determined the suspension of an earlier sentence under the old section 120(5) and directed that the two sentences there mentioned were to run concurrently, subsections (6) and (7) have effect as if for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (6) there were substituted “power to give a direction that the earlier sentence shall begin to run from the end of another term of imprisonment or detention passed on the person by the court-martial or the Appeal Court.”.

(5) In this paragraph “the old section 120(5)” has the same meaning as in paragraph 5.