Royal Brunei Armed Forces Act · 1984 Revised Edition · Part 5
85. Convening and constitution of courts-martial
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
A court-martial shall be convened by order of the competent authority and, subject to the provisions of this section, shall consist of the president and not less than four other officers.
competent authority
“competent authority” means His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan or any officer or officers for the time being authorised by His Majesty the Sultan Yang Di-Pertuan to exercise or perform all or any of the powers or duties conferred or imposed upon the competent authority under this Act;
Any officer who —
officer
“officer” means any person commissioned into the Armed Forces by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan under this Act but does not include any person serving under any loan agreement or contract with the Government;
is the officer (in this Act referred to as the convening officer) who convenes a court-martial;
has held a commission for less than 2 years;
at any time between the date on which the accused was charged with the offence and the date of the trial —
has been the commanding officer of the accused;
who has investigated the charge against the accused; or
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who under this Act has held, or has acted as one of the persons holding, an inquiry into matters relating to the subject matter of the charge against the accused; or
where the accused is an officer of or above the rank of
Captain, is an officer below that rank, shall not be a member of a court-martial; and shall not, if he is an officer to whom any provisions of paragraph (c) applies, act as Judge Advocate at a court-martial.
The president of a court-martial shall be appointed by order of the convening officer and shall not be below the rank of Major unless in the opinion of the convening officer an officer of or above the rank of Major having suitable qualifications is not available and cannot be made available with due regard to the public service, and in any event the president of a court-martial shall not be below the rank of Captain.
convening officer
“convening officer”, in relation to a court-martial, means the officer convening that court-martial and includes his successor or any person for the time being exercising his or his successor’s functions;
The members of a court-martial, other than the president, shall be appointed by the convening officer or in such other manner as may be prescribed.
prescribed
“prescribed” means, except in Parts 5 and 7, prescribed by regulations made by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan*;
Where the convening officer is of opinion that it is not possible without serious detriment to the public service to convene a court-martial constituted as provided in subsection (1), he may convene a court-martial consisting of the president and not less than two other officers.
service
“service”, when used adjectively, means belonging to or connected with the Armed Forces or the Reserve Regiment or any part of either of such forces;
Where the convening officer —
appoints a Captain as president of a court-martial, being of opinion that an officer of or above the rank of Major having suitable qualifications is not available and cannot be made available with due regard to the public service; or
convenes a court-martial consisting of the president and not less than two other officers, being of opinion that it is not possible without serious detriment to the public service to convene a court-martial constituted as provided in subsection (1), the order convening the court-martial shall contain a statement of such opinion, and that statement shall be conclusive.
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Terms defined in s 2
Armed Forces
Defined · s 2“Armed Forces” means the Royal Brunei Armed Forces raised and maintained under this Act;
commanding officer
Defined · s 2“commanding officer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 83(1);
competent authority
Defined · s 2“competent authority” means His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan or any officer or officers for the time being authorised by His Majesty the Sultan Yang Di-Pertuan to exercise or perform all or any of the powers or duties conferred or imposed upon the competent authority under this Act;
convening officer
Defined · s 2“convening officer”, in relation to a court-martial, means the officer convening that court-martial and includes his successor or any person for the time being exercising his or his successor’s functions;
officer
Defined · s 2“officer” means any person commissioned into the Armed Forces by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan under this Act but does not include any person serving under any loan agreement or contract with the Government;
prescribed
Defined · s 2“prescribed” means, except in Parts 5 and 7, prescribed by regulations made by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan*;
service
Defined · s 2“service”, when used adjectively, means belonging to or connected with the Armed Forces or the Reserve Regiment or any part of either of such forces;
Part