If someone was to be caught committing any of these offences there are two things that could happen. They could either be sent to a summary or a court martial.
A Summary Trial.
A summary trial is basically where personnel are sent to be dealt with by their commanding officer. The commanding officer is only able to restrict liberty for up to 60 days ( this could be something such as going down the pub for the night or going off base to their girlfriends), he can as well as restrict liberty, fine up to 28 days worth of pay and demote the soldier if possible to do so. Within a summary trial, it is not possible for the commanding officer to give prison sentences, but this is because the summary trial will only deal with minor offences such as short periods of absence.
A Court Martial Trial.
A court martial is able to give prison sentences, to which the soldiers will be put into a military prison. A military prison is for all of the armed forces, rather than having a prison for the Army, Air Force and the Navy. An example of this would be if you got sacked for your part time job, the worst would probably be the fact you wouldn’t get a positive reference from them, however, when you are sacked from the armed forces, you have to do your sentence in a military prison before being allowed to leave the army.
There are two types of court martial and these are:
- District Court Martial (DCM) – This deals with soldiers and airmen.
- General Court Martial (GCM) – This deals with officers.
A District Court Martial (DCM).
This consists of being interviewed and interrogated by 3 independent officers, and the trial is lead by a Major or Lieutenant Colonel and a Judge Advocate to which the Judge must be lawyer trained. The DCM cannot hold trials for officers and a maximum sentence they can give is a 2 year period in a military prison.
A General Court Martial (GCM).
This consists of being interviewed and interrogated by 5 independent officers, and the trial is lead by a Colonel or a Brigadier with a Judge Advocate. Because this court deals with higher ranks, the courts officers are of a higher ranking than a DCM court. The GCM will only hold trials for officers and can apply the maximum sentences in law for both civilian and criminal offences. For example, if you were to commit a murder and get sentenced to life imprisonment, the GCM could apply this to a soldier in the armed forces but instead of being in a civilian prison, you will be in a military prison.
Wherever it is possible all three services will follow the English Legal System, however, because there is a base in Germany, soldiers based there must follow the German Legal System as well as the Military laws.
There have been a few recent changes to the laws in which I mentioned at the beginning of this report but as a reminder they are listed again below:
- The Army Act 1955
- The Air Force Act 1955
- The Naval Act 1957
Now, the new legislations include:
- The Armed Forces Act 1996
- The Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000
These changes were much needed to be up to date and in line with the changing attitudes of the public.
These latter two legislations apply to all three of the armed forces rather than being separated for each of the armed forces.
I will now go on to look at the civil law and how this can affect the armed forces personnel.
The Civil Law.
Within the civil law, there are 3 different types of court you could attend for committing a crime and these are:
- A Magistrates Court
- A Lay Magistrates Court
- District Judges and Deputy District Judges
A Magistrate’s Court.
A magistrate’s court will be responsible for dealing with 97% of all criminal cases. These cases could include issues such as family matters and getting custody of children, the granting of police search and arrest warrants the granting of licences such as pub or firearms licence. A magistrate’s court will also be responsible for juvenile and summary jurisdiction. Some cases will be taken to a magistrate’s court for the magistrate to listen to the cases and then if he feels necessary admit the criminal to be tried at a crown court.
A magistrate’s court is the most junior of courts found in England and Wales with a maximum sentence of only 6 months imprisonment but can fine up to £5000.
A Lay Magistrates Court.
There are over 30,000 lay magistrates in England and Wales. They are unpaid volunteers who are not qualified in law; instead they are helped and guided through by a clerk. The only requirements for a lay magistrate are that they have to be between 27 and 60 years old and have to sit in for a minimum of 25 sessions. They will usually sit in threes and help to deal with the 97% of criminal cases.
District Judges and Deputy District Judges.
These are qualified barristers and solicitors with at least 7 years experience. They are highly trained and are paid a substantial salary and these may sit alone in a court. Instead of being called District Judges and Deputy District Judges, they used to be called Stipendiary Magistrates but renamed Access to Justice Act 1999.
In a magistrate’s court, the magistrate will listen to a summary of facts and hear whether the defendant would like to plead guilty or not guilty. If the defendant pleads guilty, the court moves straight onto sentencing. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the prosecution will offer their case, which is then followed by the defence team offering their case. The magistrate will then give a verdict. If the defendant is found not guilty, they are free to leave, however, if found guilty, the clerk will advise the magistrate the sort of sentencing and the magistrate will then give a sentence.
With anything in life, there are always advantages and disadvantages, and magistracy is no different. Below, I have given some examples of advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of magistracy.
- It is cost effective because there is no huge salary to pay out.
- It will appear fairer to the public because it uses people taken off the streets to give a non biased verdict.
- With a sitting of three people, it will help to give a balanced and non biased decision.
- Magistrates tend to have a local knowledge and better understanding of the local area.
Disadvantages of magistracy.
- The magistrates could have a biased view towards the police.
- There may be an inconsistency between the benches.
- Because the cases are not heard in detail, it may be possible for defendant’s team to leave out vital information.