Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976

5 Provisions supplementary to s. 4. U.K.

(1) In relation to a person charged with a rape offence in pursuance of any provision of the M1 Naval Discipline Act 1957, the M2 Army Act 1955 or the M3 Air Force Act 1955, the preceding section shall have effect with the following modifications, namely—

(a) any reference to a trial or a trial before the Crown Court shall be construed as a reference to a trial by court–martial;

(b) in subsection (1) after the word “Wales” in [F1 all]places there shall be inserted the words “or Northern Ireland”;

(c) for any reference in subsection (2) to a judge of the Crown Court there shall be substituted a reference to the officer who is authorised to convene or has convened a court–martial for the trial of the offence (or, if after convening it he has ceased to hold the appointment by virtue of which he convened it, the officer holding that appointment) and for any reference in subsection (3) to such a judge there shall be substituted a reference to the court;

(d) for any reference in subsection (4) to the Court of Appeal there shall be substituted a reference to the Courts–Martial Appeal Court; and

(e) in subsection (6) for paragraphs (a) to (d) there shall be substituted the words “he is charged with a rape offence in pursuance of any provision of the Naval Discipline Act 1957, the Army Act 1955 or the Air Force Act 1955”.

(2) If after the commencement of a trial at which a person is charged with a rape offence a new trial of the person for that offence is ordered, the commencement of any previous trial at which he was charged with that offence shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (2) of the preceding section.

(3) In relation to a conviction of an offence tried summarily as mentioned in section 3(3) of this Act, for references to the Court of Appeal in subsection (4) of the preceding section there shall be substituted references to the Crown Court and the reference to notice of an application for leave to appeal shall be omitted.

(4) When an offence under subsection (5) of the preceding section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members the preceding provisions of this subsection shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(5) Proceedings for an offence under subsection (5) of the preceding section (including such an offence which is alleged to have been committed by virtue of the preceding subsection) shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney General or, if the offence is alleged to have been committed in Northern Ireland, of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland; and where a person is charged with such an offence it shall be a defence to prove that at the time of the alleged offence he was not aware, and neither suspected nor had reason to suspect, that the publication [F2 or programme in question was of, or (as the case may be) included,]such matter as is mentioned in subsection (1) of that section.

[F3 (6) In section 31(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 M4 (which provides that certain powers of the Court of Appeal may be exercised by a single judge) after the word “1973” there shall be inserted the words “and the power to give directions under section 4(4) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976” ; and in section 36(1) of the Courts–Martial (Appeals) Act 1968 M5 (which provides that certain powers of the Courts–Martial Appeal Court may be exercised by a single judge) after paragraph (g) there shall be inserted the words “and the power to give directions under section 4(4) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 as adapted by section 5(1)(d) of that Act”.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Word substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 170, Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 15 para. 53(2)

F2 In s. 5(5) for “or broadcast” there was substituted “broadcast or cable programme” by Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 (c. 46, SIF 96), s. 57(1), Sch. 5 para. 34(5), which Act was repealed 1.12.1990 by Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42, SIF 96), s. 203(3), Sch. 21 and by s. 203(1), Sch. 20 para. 26(2) of that 1990 Act it is provided that in section 5(5), for “broadcast or cable programme in question was of” there shall be substituted “or programme in question was of, or (as the case may be) included,”

F3 S. 5(6) repealed in part by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), s. 170, Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 16

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 s. 5(5) explained by Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 (c. 59), s. 12.

C2 The text of 5(6) is in the form in which it was originally enacted: except as indictated, it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.

Marginal Citations

M1 1957 c. 53.

M2 1955 c. 18.

M3 1955 c. 19.

M4 1968 c. 19.

M5 1968 c. 20.