Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

2 Rehabilitation of persons dealt with in service disciplinary proceedings. E+W+S

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, for the purposes of this Act any finding that a person is guilty of an offence in respect of any act or omission which was the subject of service disciplinary proceedings shall be treated as a conviction and any punishment awarded [F1 or order made by virtue of Schedule 5A to the M1 Army Act 1955 or to the M2 Air Force Act 1955 or Schedule 4A to the M3 Naval Discipline Act 1957] in respect of any such finding shall be treated as a sentence.

(2) Subsection (1) above applies [F2 , subject to section 17 of the M4 Armed Forces Act 1976 (rehabilitation of civilians),] only where either or both of the following conditions is satisfied, that is to say—

(a) the offence in question is an offence to which this subsection applies; or

(b) the punishment awarded is a punishment to which this subsection applies.

(3) Subsection (2) above applies to any offence consisting in the commission of a civil offence and to any offence under, and any offence of attempting to commit an offence under, any of the following enactments, or any corresponding enactment previously in force—

(a) sections 30, 45, 46, 61, 62, 64 and 66 of the M5 Army Act 1955 and the M6 Air Force Act 1955; and

(b) sections 5, 30, 31, 34A, 35, 36 and 37 of the M7 Naval Discipline Act 1957.

(4) Subsection (2) above applies to the following punishments—

(a) imprisonment;

(b) cashiering, discharge with ignominy or dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty’s service;

(c) dismissal from Her Majesty’s service; and

(d) detention for a term of three months or more.

[F3 (e) detention by virtue of a custodial order made under section 71AA of or Schedule 5A to the Army Act 1955 or the Air Force Act 1955 or under section 43AA of or Schedule 4A to the Naval Discipline Act 1957.]

(5) In this Act, “service disciplinary proceedings” means any of the following—

(a) any proceedings under the M8 Army Act 1955, the M9 Air Force Act 1955, or the M10 Naval Discipline Act 1957 whether before a court-martial or before any other court or person authorised thereunder to award a punishment in respect of any offence);

(b) any proceedings under any Act previously in force corresponding to any of the Acts mentioned in paragraph (a) above;

[F4 (bb) any proceedings before a Standing Civilian Court established under the M11 Armed Forces Act 1976;]

(c) any proceedings under any corresponding enactment or law applying to a force, other than a home force, to which section 4 of the M12 Visiting Forces (British Commonwealth) Act 1933 applies or applied at the time of the proceedings, being proceedings in respect of a member of a home force who is or was at that time attached to the first-mentioned force under that section;

whether in any event those proceedings take place in Great Britain or elsewhere.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 20(1)

F2 Words inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 20(2)

F3 S. 2(4)(e) added by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55, SIF 7:1), Sch. 4 para. 2(1)

F4 S. 2(5)(bb) inserted by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), Sch. 9 para. 20(3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 2 modified by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 17(1); extended by Armed Forces Act 1976 (c. 52), s. 17(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1955 c. 18.

M2 1955 c. 19.

M3 1957 c. 53.

M4 1976 c. 52.

M5 1955 c. 18.

M6 1955 c. 19.

M7 1957 c. 53.

M8 1955 c. 18.

M9 1955 c. 19.

M10 1957 c. 53.

M11 1976 c. 52.

M12 1933 c. 6.