Army Act 1955 (repealed)

Execution of sentences of death, imprisonment and detentionF6U.K.

121 Execution of sentences of death. U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to the execution of sentences of death underthis Act, whether passed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of the last foregoing subsection regulations under this section maymake provision with respect to all or any of the following matters, that is to say—

(a)the manner in which, the person by whom and the country or territory, place and kind of establishment(whether military or not) where any such sentence is to be executed; and

(b)the custody and treatment of the person under sentence and his removal from one place or establishmentto another between the passing and execution of the sentence,

or may authorise such persons as may be specified in or determined by or under the regulations to givedirections with respect to all or any of those matters.

(3)Such provost marshal or other provost officer not below field rank as may be specified in or determinedunder regulations under this section shall be responsible for the due execution of any sentence of deathpassed under this Act.

122 Imprisonment and Detention Rules. U.K.

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Secretary of State may make rules (in F1 . . . this Act referred to as Imprisonment and Detention Rules) with respect to all or any of the following matters, thatis to say—

(a)the places in which and the establishments or forms of custody (whether military or not) in whichpersons may be required to serve the whole or any part of military sentences of imprisonment and detentionpassed on them;

(b)the committal of persons under military sentences of imprisonment or detention to the appropriateestablishment or form of custody, their removal from one country or place to another and from oneestablishment or form of custody to another and their release on the coming to an end of any term ofimprisonment or detention;

(c)the provision, classification, regulation and management of military establishments;

(d)the classification, treatment, employment, discipline and control of persons serving military sentencesof imprisonment or detention in military establishments or otherwise in military custody;

(e)the temporary release on compassionate grounds of persons serving such sentences in such establishmentsor custody as aforesaid, the cases in which, periods for which and conditions subject to which they may beallowed out of any such establishment or custody and the remission of part of any such sentence for goodconduct and industry;

(f)the appointment, powers and duties of inspectors, visitors and governors, and of officers and othermembers of the staff, of military establishments.

(2)Imprisonment and Detention Rules shall not authorise the infliction of corporal punishment.

(3)Imprisonment and Detention Rules may apply with the necessary modifications all or any of the provisionsof sections thirty-nine to forty-two of the M1Prison Act 1952 (which relate to offencesby persons other than prisoners).

(4)Imprisonment and Detention Rules may, to such extent as may be provided by the Rules, be made so as toapply to persons detained in military establishments while serving sentences of imprisonment or detentionawarded under [F2the M2Naval Discipline Act 1957] or the M3Air Force Act, 1955, notwithstanding that such persons are not for the timebeing subject to military law.

(5)The Secretary of State may as respects any area in which persons subject to military law are on activeservice delegate his power to make Imprisonment and Detention Rules to the officer commanding the commandwithin which those persons are serving, subject to such restrictions, reservations, exceptions andconditions as the Secretary of State may think fit.

123 Supplementary provisions relating to regulations and rules under ss. 121 & 122.U.K.

(1)Regulations made under section one hundred and twenty-one of this Act or Imprisonment and DetentionRules may contain such incidental and supplementary provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to berequisite for the purposes of the regulations or rules.

(2)Any such regulations or rules as aforesaid made by the Secretary of State shall be made by statutoryinstrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

124 Restrictions on serving of sentences of detention in prisons.U.K.

A person shall not be required to serve any part of a military sentence of detention in a military orcivil prison:

125 Special provisions as to civil prisons in the United Kingdom.U.K.

(1)A person sentenced to death or imprisonment and committed or transferred to a civil prison in pursuanceof regulations under section one hundred and twenty-one of this Act or of Imprisonment and Detention Rulesshall while in that prison be confined and otherwise dealt with in the same manner as a person confinedtherein under a like sentence of a civil court.

(2)The M4Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868, F3 shall apply in relation to the execution in a civil prison of a sentence ofdeath passed by a court-martial for any offence, but with the substitution in that Act for references tothe sheriff of references to the provost marshal or other provost officer responsible for the due executionof the sentence.

126 Special provisions as to carrying out or serving of sentences outside the United Kingdom otherwise thanin military establishments.U.K.

(1)A Secretary of State may from time to time make arrangements with the authorities of any country orterritory outside the United Kingdom whereby sentences of death passed by courts-martial may in accordancewith regulations under section one hundred and twenty-one of this Act be carried out in establishments underthe control of those authorities and military sentences of imprisonment or detention may in accordance withImprisonment and Detention Rules be served wholly or partly in such establishments.

(2)The powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections one hundred and twenty-one and one hundredand twenty-two of this Act shall extend to the making of such provision as appears to the Secretary of Statenecessary or expedient for giving effect to any arrangements made under the last foregoing subsection.

(3)The said powers shall be so exercised as to secure that no sentence of death passed by a court-martialshall be executed, and no military sentence of imprisonment or detention shall be served, in anestablishment in any country or territory outside the United Kingdom not being a military establishment,except in accordance with arrangements made as respects that country or territory.

127 Country in which sentence of imprisonment or detention to be served.U.K.

(1)A person who is serving a military sentence of imprisonment or detention in the United Kingdom may (inso far as may be specified by or under Imprisonment and Detention Rules) be removed out of the UnitedKingdom—

(a)to any colony in which he was enlisted; or

(b)to any place out of the United Kingdom where the corps or any part thereof to which for the time beinghe belongs is serving or is under orders to serve,

but not to any other place.

(2)Subject to the following provisions of this section, a person sentenced under this Act, by acourt-martial held out of the United Kingdom, to imprisonment or detention for more than twelve months shallas soon as practicable F4 . . . be removed to the United Kingdom.

(3)The last foregoing subsection shall not apply in relation to any person belonging to a class of personsspecified by or under Imprisonment and Detention Rules as persons whose removal to the United Kingdom wouldfor reasons of climate, place of birth or place of enlistment or any other reason not be beneficial.

(4)Where a person has been sentenced under this Act, by a court-martial held out of the United Kingdom,to imprisonment or detention for more than twelve months, the confirming officer or reviewing authority maynotwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of this section direct that he shall not be required to beremoved to the United Kingdom until he has served such part of his sentence, not exceeding (in the case ofa sentence of more than two years’ imprisonment) two years, as may be specified in the direction; and indetermining whether or not to exercise the powers conferred by this subsection a confirming officer orreviewing authority shall have regard to any recommendation in that behalf made by the court-martial.

(5)Any direction of a confirming officer under this section may at any time be revoked by the confirmingofficer or by a reviewing authority, or superseded by any direction of the confirming officer or a reviewingauthority which the officer or authority could have given under the last foregoing subsection; and anydirection of a reviewing authority under this section may at any time be revoked by a reviewing authorityor superseded as aforesaid.

(6)Any direction given under this section, and the revocation of any such direction, shall be promulgated.

(7)In ascertaining at any time for the purposes of this section the nature or length of a sentence regardshall be had to any commutation or remission of the sentence previously directed.

128 Application of enactments relating to coroners.U.K.

(1)Section five of the M5Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868 (which makes specialprovision for the holding of inquests on the bodies of persons on whom judgment of death has been executedwithin the jurisdiction of a coroner) shall apply in relation to the execution, in any premises in theUnited Kingdom under the control of the Secretary of State within such jurisdiction, of a sentence of deathpassed under this Act by a court-martial as it applies to the execution of a judgment of death passed bya civil court, but with the substitution for the reference to the sheriff of a reference to the provostmarshal or other provost officer responsible for the due execution of the sentence.

(2)[F5The Coroners Act 1887 to 1926][F5The Coroners Act 1988] shall apply in relation to any premises in the United Kingdom under the control of the Secretary ofState and allocated for the accommodation of persons sentenced by court-martial to imprisonment or detentionas those Acts apply in relation to a prison.

129 Duties of governors of prisons and others to receive prisoners. U.K.

(1)It shall be the duty of the governor of a civil prison, or, in so far as regulations under section onehundred and twenty-one of this Act or Imprisonment and Detention Rules so provide, of the superintendentor other person in charge of a prison (not being a military prison) in a colony, to receive any person dulysent to that prison in pursuance of the regulations or rules and to confine him until execution of thesentence is completed or the prisoner is discharged or delivered over in due course of law.

(2)Where a person is in military custody in pursuance of a military sentence of imprisonment or detention,then on receipt of a written order in that behalf purporting to be signed by that person’s commandingofficer it shall be the duty of any such governor, superintendent or other person as aforesaid, of thepolice officer in charge of a police station or of any person in charge of any other place in whichprisoners may be lawfully confined (whether the station or place is in the United Kingdom or in a colony)to keep that person in custody for a period not exceeding seven days unless the said person is earlierdischarged or delivered over in due course of law.

130 Application to air-force establishments and custody.U.K.

(1)In section one hundred and eighteen of this Act, the reference in subsection (2) to a militaryestablishment shall include a reference to an air-force establishment (within the meaning of the M6Air Force Act 1955).

(2)In section one hundred and nineteen of this Act references to a military establishment and toImprisonment and Detention Rulesshall include respectively references to such an air-force establishmentas aforesaid and to Imprisonment and Detention Rules made under the M7Air Force Act 1955,and the reference in subsection (5) to military custody shall include a reference to air-force custody.

(3)In section one hundred and twenty-four of this Act the reference to a military prison shall include areference to an air-force prison (within the meaning of the M8Air Force Act 1955).

(4)In subsection (3) of section one hundred and twenty-six of this Act the reference to a militaryestablishment shall include a reference to an air-force establishment (within the meaning of the M9Air Force Act 1955).