Air Force Act 1955

Inquiries

135 Boards of inquiry

(1) Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of rules made under this section (hereinafter referred to as " board of inquiry rules "), the Air Council or any air-force, naval or military officer empowered by or under such rules so to do may convene a board of inquiry to investigate and report on the facts relating to—

(a) the absence of any person subject to air-force law;

(b) the capture of any such person by the enemy;

(c) the death of any person in an air-force establishment, being an establishment in any country or territory outside the United Kingdom where an inquiry into the death is not required to be held by any civil authority ;

(d) any other matter of a class specified in such rules or referred to such a board by the Air Council or any such officer as aforesaid ;

and a board of inquiry shall, if directed so to do, express their opinion on any question arising out of any matter referred to the board.

(2) A board of inquiry shall consist of not less than three members, who shall be persons subject to air-force law, the Naval Discipline Act or military law, and the president of a board of inquiry shall be an officer not below the rank of flight lieutenant or corresponding rank.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, board of inquiry rules may make provision with respect to the convening, constitution and procedure of boards of inquiry and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may make provision with respect to all or any of the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the rules of evidence to be observed by boards of inquiry and the taking of evidence before such boards, so however that the rules shall provide for the taking of evidence on oath or affirmation except in circumstances such that if the evidence were being taken at a court-martial an oath could be dispensed with;

(b) without prejudice to the provisions of the next following section, the making in service books of records of findings of boards of inquiry in such cases as may be provided by the rules ;

(c) such incidental and supplementary matters as appear requisite for the purposes of the rules.

(4) Board of inquiry rules shall contain provision for securing that any witness or other person who may be affected by the findings of a board of inquiry shall have an opportunity of being present, and represented, at the sittings of the board or such part thereof as may be specified by or under the rules.

(5) Evidence given before a board of inquiry shall not be admissible against any person in proceedings before a court-martial, commanding officer or appropriate superior authority, other than proceedings for an offence against section fifty-eight of this Act or for an offence against section seventy of this Act where the corresponding civil offence is perjury.

(6) The power to make board of inquiry rules shall be exercisable by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument which shall be laid before Parliament.

136 Inquiries into absence

(1) Where a board of inquiry inquiring into the absence of an officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or airman reports that he has been absent without leave or other sufficient cause for a period specified in the report, not being less than twenty-one days, a record of the report shall in accordance with Queen's Regulations be entered in the service books.

(2) A record entered in pursuance of the last foregoing subsection shall, unless the absentee subsequently surrenders or is arrested, or the report of the board of inquiry is annulled by the Air Council or a subsequent board of inquiry, have the like effect as a conviction by court-martial for desertion.

137 Unit inquiries

(1) An officer of any of Her Majesty's air forces authorised in that behalf by or under regulations of the Air Council may cause an inquiry to be held, in such manner and by such person or persons subject to air-force law, the Naval Discipline Act or military law as may be specified by or determined under such regulations, into any matter so specified or determined:

Provided that an inquiry shall not be held in pursuance of this section into—

(a) the absence of a person subject to air-force law, or

(b) the capture of any such person by the enemy.

(2) Regulations of the Air Council made for the purposes of this section may make provision as to the rules of evidence to be observed at inquiries held in pursuance of this section and the taking of evidence at such inquiries, and may authorise the taking of evidence on oath or affirmation, and the administration of oaths, in such cases as may be specified by or under the regulations.

(3) Subsections (4) and (5) of section one hundred and thirty-five of this Act shall apply in relation to inquiries held in pursuance of this section with the substitution of references to regulations of the Air Council for references to board of inquiry rules and of references to an inquiry held in pursuance of this section for references to a board of inquiry.