Civilian subject to service discipline
Encyclopedia
A civilian subject to service discipline is someone who, whilst not a member of the British Armed Forces
, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British military law
and the military justice system
.
defines who is a civilian subject to service discipline. The main categories are:
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civilians living with or staying with a service person:
These definitions will therefore include, for example, family members living with a soldier stationed in Germany.
Civilians subject to service discipline may be tried in the Service Civilian Court or by the Court Martial (although the Court Martial will be made up of civilian, not military, members).
, civilian spouses, dependents, and guests of military personnel are not included in the list of people subject to that country's Uniform Code of Military Justice
.
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British military law
Military law
Military justice is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states use special judicial and other arrangements to enforce those laws, while others use...
and the military justice system
Military Courts of the United Kingdom
The Military Courts of the United Kingdom are now governed by the Armed Forces Act 2006. The system set up under the Act applies to all three armed services, the Royal Navy , the Army and the Royal Air Force , and replaces the three parallel systems that were previously in existence.The military...
.
Categories
The Armed Forces Act 2006Armed Forces Act 2006
The Armed Forces Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It came into force on 31 October 2009. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts as the system of military law under which the British Armed Forces operate...
defines who is a civilian subject to service discipline. The main categories are:
- civilians on board a military ship when afloat, or on board a military aircraft when in flight
- civil servants working in support of the armed forces, when in a designated area (see below)
- civilians employed by NATO by reason of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's membership of NATO, when outside the British IslandsBritish IslandsBritish Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which since 1889 has referred collectively to the following four states:*the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ;... - civilians employed by certain support organisations, when in a designated area
- The Navy, Army and Air Force InstitutesNavy, Army and Air Force InstitutesThe Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families...
(NAAFI) - Service Children's EducationService Children's EducationService Children's Education is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government responsible for the education of the children of service families and Ministry of Defence personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom...
- The Services Sound and Vision CorporationServices Sound and Vision CorporationThe Services Sound and Vision Corporation is a British registered charity. Set up in the 1980s to "entertain and inform Britain's Armed Forces around the world", its activities include the British Forces Broadcasting Service with its radio and television operations, SSVC Cinemas, the British...
(SSVC) - The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association - Forces HelpSSAFA Forces HelpSSAFA Forces Help is a British based charitable organization set up to help former and serving members of the United Kingdom British Armed Forces and their families or dependents...
- The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
- civilians living with or staying with a service person or other civilian subject to service discipline, when in a designated area
- others designated by the Defence CouncilDefence Council of the United KingdomThe Defence Council of the United Kingdom is the body legally entrusted with the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories and with control over the British armed forces, and is part of the Ministry of Defence.-Functions:...
, for example contractors deployed on operations
Designated areas
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civil servants, employees of support organizations and civilians living with or staying with either of those:- Brunei Darussalam
- The Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
- Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
- IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civilians living with or staying with a service person:
- BelizeBelizeBelize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
- Brunei Darussalam
- The Falkland Islands
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Saudi Arabia
- CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
- TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
- The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
- KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
- OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
These definitions will therefore include, for example, family members living with a soldier stationed in Germany.
Civilians subject to service discipline may be tried in the Service Civilian Court or by the Court Martial (although the Court Martial will be made up of civilian, not military, members).
Comparison with other countries
The list of civilians who are subject to service discipline is more extensive than in some other countries—for example, in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, civilian spouses, dependents, and guests of military personnel are not included in the list of people subject to that country's Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
.