§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000. [41098]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 18 March 2002]: The Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000 amended the Army and Air Force Acts 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (the Service discipline Acts), primarily to provide for the judicial supervision of pre-trial custody and to introduce a right of appeal against findings and sentences imposed summarily.
All discipline procedures are kept under review. We shall be considering whether any changes will be required to the aspects dealt with in the 2000 Act when the Service discipline Acts are replaced by a single piece of discipline legislation covering all the Services. We are also assessing whether any modifications may be necessary as a result of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Morris v. the United Kingdom, although that judgment was directly concerned with court martial procedures rather than the areas covered by the 2000 Act.