The Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000 came into force on 2nd October 2000
The Armed Forces Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006
The statutory bases for administering discipline in the Armed Forces are the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (collectively known as the "Service Discipline Acts").
The Service Discipline Acts are renewed by primary legislation every five years and annually in each of the intervening years by an Order in Council approved in draft by both Houses of Parliament (see for example notes at ACTS OF PARLIAMENT etc/Armed Forces Act 2001 ). The requirement for annual Parliamentary agreement for their continuation has its origins in the 1688 Bill of Rights which provides that the raising of a standing army is against the law unless Parliament consents to it.
As from 4th June 2007, the 2006 Act establishes a single permanent Court Martial, covering all three Services, to replace the one-off courts martial that must currently be convened for each trial (see notes at Acts of Parliament etc/Armed Forces Act 2006 ).
There is a substantial Armed Forces legal web site devoted to the legal aspects of military discipline. The Legal Services Commission (tel 08457-500640) has been charged with responsibility for locating an appropriate duty solicitor to represent members of the armed forces who wish to be represented at a new style military custody hearing and who have not nominated a solicitor or who do not wish to use the services's in-house legal department.
Members of the armed forces are entitled to the protections of the European Convention on Human Rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 and as a result the old Courts Martial system has been attacked, sometimes successfully and sometimes not (see notes at Human Rights/fair trial ).
See also notes at Specific employments/army, navy and air force .
The Armed Forces Act 2006 will, when brought fully into force, wholly repeal and replace the Service Discipline Acts. However the same requirement for annual and five yearly renewals will continue.
updated Jan2008