Custody hearings of armed forces personnel

From 2 October 2000, the Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000 will give armed forces personnel the right to legal representation at custody hearings held before a judicial officer.

Informal arrangements have been agreed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Legal Services Commission to provide such representation to armed forces personnel located in England and Wales.

These arrangements will remain in operation until the introduction of the Criminal Defence Service contracting on 1 April 2001 when more permanent arrangements will be introduced.

Relevant personnel will be given the choice of a lawyer from one of the services legal departments (if available), a solicitor named by the person concerned or the police station duty solicitor.

The services establishment dealing with the case will be responsible for implementing the first two options.

If the duty solicitor is requested then the services establishment should telephone the commission's telephone call centre on 08457 500640 describing the request as 'seeking legal representation for a member of the armed forces at a custody hearing before a judicial officer'.

The call centre will then contact the duty solicitor covering the nearest civilian police station and make it clear to the solicitor that he or she is not obliged to take the case, as it is not currently a requirement of the commission's Duty Solicitor Arrangements 2000 to do so.If the solicitor refuses the case, the call centre will try to find another duty solicitor.

The call centre will fax a copy of this note to the duty solicitor taking the case.

Payment of named and duty solicitors will be the responsibility of the MoD.

The solicitor will complete the commission's CLAIM16 (claim for representation) form and submit it not to the commission but to the appropriate service address below for payment.

The rates of remuneration will be as for ABWOR (warrants for further detention) including the higher rates for unsocial hours.

l For Royal Navy personnel: N P Sec 2A1, Room 224, Victory Building, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, PO1 3LS.l For Royal Air Force personnel: Fin Audit 2, Room F56, Building 255, HQ PTC, RAF Innsworth, Glos, GL3 1EZ.l For Army personnel: The Army Criminal Legal Aid Authority, Building 398C, Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire, SN9 6BE.