Terrorism Act 2000

98Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures

(1)The Secretary of State may appoint a person to be known as the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures in Northern Ireland.

(2)A person may be appointed as the Independent Assessor only if—

(a)he is not a serving member of Her Majesty’s forces, and

(b)he has not been a serving member at any time during the period of 20 years ending with the date of the appointment.

(3)The Independent Assessor—

(a)shall keep under review the procedures adopted by the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints to which this section applies,

(b)shall receive and investigate any representations about those procedures,

(c)may investigate the operation of those procedures in relation to a particular complaint or class of complaints,

(d)may require the General Officer Commanding to review a particular case or class of cases in which the Independent Assessor considers that any of those procedures have operated inadequately, and

(e)may make recommendations to the General Officer Commanding about inadequacies in those procedures, including inadequacies in the way in which they operate in relation to a particular complaint or class of complaints.

(4)This section applies to complaints about the behaviour of a member of Her Majesty’s forces under the command of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland, other than—

(a)a complaint which is referred by the General Officer Commanding to the Royal Ulster Constabulary and which is not remitted by the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the General Officer Commanding to be dealt with by him,

(b)a complaint about a matter in respect of which a claim for compensation has been made under Schedule 12, and

(c)a complaint about a matter which is the subject of proceedings involving a claim for compensation which have been instituted in a court.

(5)The General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland shall—

(a)provide such information,

(b)disclose such documents, and

(c)provide such assistance,

as the Independent Assessor may reasonably require for the purpose of the performance of his functions.

(6)Schedule 11 (which makes supplementary provision about the Independent Assessor) shall have effect.