HC Deb 24 June 1947 vol 439 cc210-2

The following Question stood upon the Order Paper:

78. Mr. Swingler

,—To ask the Secretary of State for War when he expects to be in a position to make a statement on the findings of the Lewis Committee of Inquiry on Court-Martial Procedure.

At the end of Questions:

Mr. Bellenger

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reply to Question 78, and as the answer is very long, it would perhaps be preferable if I were to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the answer:

Mr Bellenger

The Lewis Committee have submitted certain interim recommendations to the Secretaries of State for War and Air. For the most part these are endorsements of recommendations previously made by the Oliver Committee which reported in 1938 (Cmd. 6200). These interim recommendations are summarised below and notes have been added to show the action which is being taken.

  1. 1.—(a) The Judge Advocate General should in future be appointed on the recommendation of, and should be responsible to, the Lord Chancellor: though the responsibility for acting or not acting on the Judge Advocate General's advice in any particular case should remain with the Secretary of State concerned.
  2. (b) The Judge Advocate General's department should as soon as possible be reconstituted, so as to separate the functions of pre-trial advice and of prosecution, from functions of a judicial character. The former functions should cease to be a responsibility of the Judge Advocate General, and should be transferred to directorates in the departments of the Secretaries of State for War and Air. The same should be done in the department of the Judge-Advocate 212 General for India, if this is in future to be a British concern.

The Committee recognise that there may be substantial reasons preventing the immediate adoption of the above recommendations, but suggest their approval forthwith in principle, so that the preparatory work which would be necessary to put them into effect, may, so far as possible, be undertaken without delay.

These important recommendations, which will be a matter for decision by His Majesty's Government, are under active consideration.

  1. 2 (a) The Judge Advocate should cease to retire with the Court when it is considering its finding. For the present, there should be no change in the practice whereby he retires with the Court for consideration of sentence.
  2. (b) Findings and sentence should be announced by Courts-Martial forthwith in open Court after they have been determined.
  3. (c) A copy of the charge sheet should be supplied confidentially to all the members of a Court-Martial shortly in advance of the trial.

These recommendations are accepted, and will be put into effect forthwith.