The Armed Forces (Entry, Search and Seizure) Order 2006

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 1984 Act” means the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(1);

“the 2001 Act” means the Armed Forces Act 2001;

“the 2003 Order” means the Armed Forces (Entry, Search and Seizure) Order 2003(2);

“documents” includes information recorded in any form;

“excluded material” has the meaning given in section 11 of the 1984 Act;

“items subject to legal privilege” has the meaning given in section 10 of the 1984 Act and “legal privilege” shall be construed accordingly;

“judicial officer” has the meaning given in section 16(1) of the Armed Forces Act 2001;

“premises” has the meaning given to it in section 16 of the 2001 Act;

“return”, in relation to seized property, shall be construed in accordance with article 11 and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“seize” includes “take a copy of” and, subject to article 16(1), cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“seized property”, in relation to any exercise of a power of seizure, means anything seized in exercise of that power;

“service living accommodation” has the meaning given in section 15 of the 2001 Act;

“service offence” means an offence under the Naval Discipline Act 1957(3), the Army Act 1955(4) or the Air Force Act 1955(5);

“service policeman” shall be construed in accordance with section 16(1) and (6) of the 2001 Act; and

“special procedure material” has the meaning given in section 14 of the 1984 Act.

(2) In paragraphs (3) to (6)—

(a)“relevant time” means a time when seized property is in any person’s possession in consequence of a seizure; and

(b)“relevant property” means anything for which the person making the seizure had power to search,

and in relation to the relevant time, references to the relevant property shall be construed in accordance with paragraphs (3) to (6).

(3) Where the seizure was made on the occasion of a search carried out on the authority of a warrant, relevant property shall be taken to include anything of the description of things the presence or suspected presence of which provided grounds for the issue of the warrant.

(4) Where the property was seized in the course of a search on the occasion of which it would have been lawful for the person carrying out the search to seize anything which on that occasion was believed by him to be, or appeared to him to be, of a particular description, relevant property shall be taken to include—

(a)anything which at the relevant time is believed by the person in possession of the seized property, or, as the case may be, appears to him, to be of that description; and

(b)anything which is in fact of that description;

(5) Where the property was seized in the course of a search on the occasion of which it would have been lawful for the person carrying out the search to seize anything which there were on that occasion reasonable grounds for believing was of a particular description, relevant property shall be taken to include—

(a)anything which there is at the relevant time reasonable grounds for believing is of that description; and

(b)anything which is in fact of that description.

(6) Where the property was seized in the course of a search to which neither paragraph (4) nor paragraph (5) applies, relevant property shall be taken to include anything which is of a description of things which, on the occasion of the search, it would have been lawful for the person carrying it out to seize otherwise than under articles 3 and 4.

(7) References in this Order to any item or material being comprised in other property include references to its being mixed with that other property.

(8) For the purposes of this Order, the occupier of premises which are service living accommodation is—

(a)if the premises are any building or part of a building within section 15(1)(a) of the 2001 Act, any person for whose exclusive use as living accommodation or as a garage that building or part of a building is provided;

(b)if the premises are any room, structure or area within section 15(1)(b) of the 2001 Act, any person for whose use as sleeping accommodation that room, structure or area is provided.