98. Mr. Haleasked the Secretary of State for War under what regulation, and in what circumstances, soldiers are detained in close arrest for periods up to 90 days without trial.
§ Mr. StracheyUnder Section 45 of the Army Act, any officer or soldier charged with an offence punishable under that Act may be taken into military custody. Army Council instructions provide that soldiers should not be kept in close arrest unless considerations of security or discipline imperatively so require. They also provide for measures to be taken to 39W ensure that the accused person is either brought to trial or released at the earliest possible date, in accordance with Section 45 of the Army Act.
The measures include the compulsory submission of an explanatory report by the commanding officer when an accused person remains in custody for more than eight days without a court-martial for his trial being ordered to assemble, and for further reports every succeeding eight days until a court-martial is assembled or the accused person is released.
It is also provided, in accordance with recommendations made by the Army and Air Force Courts-Martial Committee, that a copy of each report should be sent to the Director of Army Legal Services or his deputy, who is required, after receiving three such reports, to make representations to the general officer commanding with a view to expediting the trial or effecting the release of the accused. Only in exceptional cases is an accused person held in close arrest, without trial, for a period approaching 90 days.