Military Investigations

If you are arrested by the service police in connection with an alleged military offence, you are entitled to the same rights as you would be if you were arrested by the civilian police, and that includes the right to have a solicitor present at your interview. This is irrespective of where you are serving in the world and our lawyers have travelled overseas to attend service police interviews. All service police interviews must be conducted in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

It may be that the service police contact you, via your unit, asking you to attend for an interview. Your rights are exactly the same. You do not have to speak to the service police until you have received proper legal advice.

In either of these situations you should contact an experienced armed forces solicitor who can normally arrange with the service police for your interview to take place at a mutually convenient time.

We advise service personnel to seek early legal advice with regard to any potential service police investigation and in particular, to have an experienced solicitor who is used to dealing with the Armed Forces present at any police interview. We represent service men and women in cases throughout Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and further afield – including Courts Martial outside the UK.

The decision on whether to charge you with an offence is not the responsibility of the service police. Once the investigation has concluded your case will be referred to the Service Prosecution Authority who will make a recommendation to your Commanding Officer whether enough evidence exists to charge you and if so how the case should be dealt with. The final decision on whether to charge you rests with your Commanding Officer.

Minor offences will be dealt with by either your Officer Commanding or, if more serious, by your Commanding Officer. The most serious offences are dealt with by Court Martial in a military court. You will not be entitled to legal representations at a Summary Hearing by either your OC or your CO, however you have the absolute right to elect for a trial by Court Martial if you wish to have your case heard in a recognised court of law.

Alternatively, you can proceed with the summary hearing and if you disagree with the outcome you have the right of appeal to the Summary Appeal Court and can appeal against the finding of guilt, the sentence imposed or both.

At a Court Martial or at the Summary Appeal Court you are entitled to legal representation. If you appeal the finding of guilt you will face a full trial at the Summary Appeal Court, just as if your case was referred to, or you had elected for, trial by Court Martial. Our lawyers are experienced at defending service personnel at both.

Courts Martial aren’t massively dissimilar from civilian courts, but there are some important differences and distinctions in which the process differs from that of the civilian Crown Court.

The defendant in a Court Martial usually wears full military uniform but without a belt. Instead of sitting in a dock, as would be the case in a civilian court, the defendant instead sits next to the Defence Counsel — much like many foreign civilian courts. The Judge Advocate wears a wig, bands and a black robe with a sash containing the service colours. Judge Advocates used to be referred to as ‘Sir’, until 2012, when this was changed to ‘Your Honour’.

Whereas a civilian court will be made up of a civilian jury, usually of twelve people, a Court Martial is made up of a jury known as a Board, which consists of between three and seven members depending on the seriousness of the offence. The Board are all either current or past commissioned officers. The most senior member is known as President of the Board, who effectively acts as the foreman in a Crown Court.

When the Board votes, they do so in reverse (rising) order of superiority, ensuring that no member feels pressured to vote a certain way because of the vote of a superior officer.

To have a solicitor present at your service police interview is free of charge, wherever you are serving in the world. The bill for our services is submitted to the Legal Services Commission if your interview takes place in the UK. If you are serving oversees our bill will be paid by the Armed Forces Criminal Legal Aid Authority (AFCLAA).

Military Investigation – FREE Initial Phone Advice
Simply call one of our team on 020 3325 7415 for FREE initial legal advice.