§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he intends reviewing Queen's Regulations and the system of service courts martial; and if he will make a statement. [19115]
§ Dr. ReidThe court-martial system was reformed on 1 April 1997 by a series of measures included in the Armed Forces Act 1996. The reforms were wide ranging and affected the pre-trial, trial and post-trial stages of the court-martial system. The purpose of these reforms was to reinforce the independence of the court-martial, principally by reducing the apparent influence of the chain of command, whilst preserving its necessary involvement.
The reforms meet the European Court's concerns about the shortcomings of the system. The ECHR has recognised our actions, noting
with satisfaction that the UK authorities had made changes to the court-martial system with a view to ensuring the observance of their Conventional commitments".Although we are not taking any further steps at present to improve the procedures, we are aware that we cannot afford to be complacent. The system is kept under review and will, of course, be looked at as part of the process of preparing for the next quinquennial Armed Forces Bill.
Queen's Regulations are a form of secondary legislation which contain much of the detail relating to provisions in the primary legislation. They also contain other administrative and disciplinary measures to assist with the overall command and administration of the armed forces. As with the primary legislation, these regulations are kept constantly under review and amended when necessary.