Air Force Act 1955

86 Officers having power to convene courts-martial

(1) A general court-martial may be convened by any qualified officer authorised by Her Majesty by warrant under Her sign manual to convene general courts-martial or that court-martial, or by any qualified officer under the command of an officer authorised as aforesaid to whom the last-mentioned officer has, in the exercise of a power conferred by the warrant issued to him, delegated his power to convene general courts-martial.

(2) A district court-martial may be convened by an officer authorised to convene general courts-martial, by any person, not below the rank of flight lieutenant, under the command of such an officer whom that officer has authorised to convene district courts-martial, by any air officer commanding a body of the air force or by any officer for the time being acting in the place of such an air officer.

(3) A field general court-martial may be convened by the officer who directed that the charge should be tried by field general court-martial.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, any power to convene courts-martial delegated under subsection (1) of this section shall be exercisable only for the trial of a person who at the date of the convening order is under or within the territorial limits of the convening officer's command, and an officer, other than one authorised to convene general courts-martial, shall not by virtue of subsection (2) of this section convene a district court-martial except for the trial of a person under his command.

(5) In this section the expression " qualified officer " means any officer not below the rank of squadron leader or corresponding rank who—

(a) is in command of a body of the regular air force, or

(b) is in command of the command within which a body of the regular air force is serving.

(6) Any warrant under this section, or any authorisation under this section to convene courts-martial—

(a) may be made subject to restrictions, reservations, exceptions or conditions;

(b) may be addressed to officers by name or by designation of their offices, and may be issued or given to a named or designated officer, to a named or designated officer and to the person for the time being performing the duties of his office, to a named or designated officer and his successors in that office or to a named or designated officer and such person and successors;

(c) may be varied or may be revoked, either wholly or in part, by a subsequent warrant of Her Majesty or, as the case may be, by the officer by whom it was given or his successor in office.

(7) Where an officer on board ship—

(a) has had power to convene general courts-martial delegated to him by an officer under whose command he was before the departure of the ship, or

(b) has been authorised under subsection (2) of this section to convene district courts-martial by such an officer,

he may convene courts-martial to the like extent as if he had continued under the command of the officer delegating the power or granting the authorisation.