The Armed Forces Act 2016 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2019

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations bring sections 3 to 5 of the Armed Forces Act 2016 (“the 2016 Act”) into force on the day after they are made to enable regulations to be made under section 128 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”) in connection with the commencement of sections 3 to 5 of the 2016 Act. The Regulations bring sections 3 to 5 of the 2016 Act fully into force on 1st July 2019 and section 6 of the Act is also brought into force on that date.

Sections 3 to 5 of the 2016 Act amend Part 5 of the 2006 Act which deals with the investigation of service offences and the procedure for charging and mode of trial in proceedings relating to service offences (there are also minor amendments to related provisions elsewhere in the 2006 Act). The amendments change the procedure for the referral of cases by service police to the Director of Service Prosecutions (“the Director”) or commanding officers and for referrals by commanding officers to the Director. The amendments also give the Director new powers to charge a person with a service offence.

Section 6 amends section 190 of the 2006 Act to change the maximum operational period that a court may specify when imposing a suspended sentence of service detention (this is the period during which the suspended sentence may be imposed if another offence is committed). The amendment increases the maximum permitted operational period from 12 to 24 months where the sentence is imposed by the Court Martial, Court Martial Appeal Court or the Supreme Court.