Military law has been a distinctive feature of the British legal system since at least 1189, when special laws were enacted to govern crusading forces going to the Holy Land.Modern military law derives from the 1688 Bill of Rights, which placed the armed forces firmly under the control of parliament as a security measure against the possibility of tyrannous monarchs.The forces' technology, organisation and roles have moved on from their medieval and 17th Century ancestors, but military law remains a peculiar area.

Its personnel are subject to the same laws as civilians, and the courts-martial partly mirror the functions of crown courts.

But there are also several additional laws governing the military which have no parallel in civilian life.

These cover such offences such as disobedience to orders, going AWOL, or even bringing the forces into disrepute.Therefore, lawyers who act for serving personnel need to have an understanding of military legislation, as well as the peculiarities of how 'ordinary' areas of law apply to their clients.

Many have themselves served in the forces, such as former naval officer Nick Sanders of Exeter firm Rundle Walker.

He often represents members of the Royal Marines based nearby.

'Military lawyers need an understanding of what makes a soldier tick, as well as knowing all the terminology and acronyms used in the forces', he says.

'You get lost very quickly if you don't understand.'Nick Bell, a partner at Winchester firm Shentons, handles many matrimonial and criminal cases involving soldiers based at one of the three barracks situated near the town.

He cites pension and child access arrangements as particularly important considerations.

The demands of service life, which often require servicemen to be away from their families for long periods, inevitably put strains on marriages.

'Essentially, you need to be very aware of the reality of such issues on the ground, and how they affect your clients' lives,' he comments.

'Solicitors in this area have to know their way around the system, and they need to have a particular sensitivity to the consequences of their cases.''It's work I enjoy doing,' says William Bache, a criminal lawyer and partner at nearby Salisbury firm Pye-Smiths.

He handles many army courts-martial cases involving soldiers stationed around Salisbury plain.

'My clients are often in a situation where their whole career is at stake, even in what are small matters by civilian standards.

It's important to get a good result; when you succeed you achieve a lot for them.'Last year Mr Bache flew to Bosnia, where he successfully defended a soldier on disciplinary charges at one of the few courts-martial to be conducted in an operational battlefield theatre since 1945.

Aside from the exotic travel opportunities that his work presents, there are other benefits to dealing with military clients: 'It's a disciplined organisation: clients come on time.

Once when I was handling a court-martial in Germany, we realised we needed a witness who was at an RAF base in Lincolnshire.

He was there at 6pm the same day.'But his praise for the military legal system is not unstinted.

The Legal Services Commission no longer provides legal aid payments for solicit ors attending overseas interviews.

'Funding for attendance at interviews overseas is an issue which urgently needs addressing,' he says.

' It is grossly unfair, when funding for attendance at police interviews in England and Wales is available, and could result in a breach of the Human Rights Act.'Another problem area, according to many lawyers, is 'redress of grievances' -- the handling of employment complaints.

Complaints can take up to two and a half years to be dealt with and, according to some military lawyers, that length of delay can result in many good soldiers getting frustrated and leaving the forces.

With retention of personnel a significant problem for the army, the handling of employment matters is a crucial issue.Mike Davies is a qualified barrister who spent nine years in the army.

He now works as a paralegal at Shrewsbury firm Wace Morgan, doing first-hand assessments of disciplinary and discrimination cases.

He describes the army's complaints system as a 'bureaucratic minefield'.

The Armed Forces Act 1997 introduced the right of service personnel to take their complaints to employment tribunals.

But according to Mr Davies, many are struck out by the six-month limitation period.

The forces have to investigate complaints before they go to a tribunal, but this is often not completed until it is too late.'There may have been instances when the forces have dragged their heels,' a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman admits.

However, he is dismissive of the role of complaints handling in personnel retention.

'Of the reasons why soldiers leave the army, grievance redress is in the bottom one per cent.'Geoffrey Salvetti is chairman of Forces Law, a countrywide network of 15 firms which runs a helpline and referral service for forces personnel.

'The forces are trying to be more open in dealing with complaints', he says.

We are seeing an interesting sea-change at the moment: military lawyers are saying you have to deal with matters quickly.'The new Armed Forces Discipline Act, which came into force at the beginning of October, goes some way to addressing these concerns .

It introduces a custody review process for soldiers held in custody, and a right of appeal for lower level offences which was previously not available.

'The forces are going to a lot of lengths to comply with the spirit, as well as the letter of the law,' maintains Nick Sanders.However, it remains to be seen how effective these new rights are in practice.

'It will really depend on how the army publicises things to soldiers,' says Mike Davies.Increasingly conscious of the forces' public image, the MoD has created a military information area on its website, giving the full text of the Act along with army custody and courts-martial rules, and the text of the 'Rights of a Soldier' booklet issued to personnel.

The military legal system is known for its severity, often necessary to maintain operational effectiveness in an organisation where discipline is vital.

But a turning point has been reached.

Like any other employer, in order to attract -- and retain -- the best people, the forces now have to tread a line between that discipline and the rights of their members.ROWLAND BYASS MEETS LAWYERS WHO HAVE SWAPPED THE ROUTINE OF CIVILIAN LAW CAREERS FOR THE ARMED FORCESWhile many areas of the army have shrunk since the end of the Cold War, the Army Legal Services (ALS) has undergone considerable growth in recent years.

Since the mid-1990s its numbers have more than doubled, from just over 40 to 100 practising solicitors and barristers.'We live in an in creasingly litigious world -- that applies in the services as it does in civilian life,' explains Lieutenant Colonel James Stythe, staff officer grade I to the director of the ALS, General Gordon Risius CB.

General Risius's roles also include advising the Army Board and Ministry of Defence and heading the Army Prosecuting Authority.

Another major factor in the increase are changes in the courts-martial system as a result of the Armed Forces Act 1996, requiring more prosecutors.The army has also been devoting personnel and resources to preparation for the Human Rights Act and the Armed Forces Discipline Act 2000, both of which came into force recently.

The Armed Forces Act incorporates the Human Rights Act into the forces' internal discipline system, introducing a right of appeal for soldiers charged with lower level offences as well as a custodial review process.Before joining the ALS, Colonel Stythe worked as a solicitor in the Crown Prosecution Service.

Unlike its naval counterpart, the ALS recruits only qualified solicitors and barristers.

After a screening interview, candidates attend a three-day series of academic and practical tests designed to assess their all-round abilities.

In most respects these are the same as those undergone by other prospective officers, including teamwork exercises which involve transporting heavy objects with a minimum of equipment.'Most lawyers will never have even dreamt of doing tasks like these', says Colonel Stythe.

'It proves quite an interesting test for them.' After a short course on military basics such as saluting candidates then go to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where they undergo a four-week course of rigorous military training alongside other professionally qualified officer candidates such as doctors, dentists, vets and members of the clergy.

'It's otherwise known as a tarts and vicars course', he jokes.What kind of people make good army lawyers? 'People interested in the travel opportunities the job entails.

People who don't see themselves behind the same desk for their entire career doing the same job.

You can't expect to earn a vast fortune we don't earn more than any other officers in the army.

Often they are quite sporty -- the army provides the opportunity to do outdoor activities that would cost a fortune in civilian life.'Unlike the increasing trend towards specialisation in the rest of the profession, army lawyers have a varied diet of work.

Last year Colonel Stythe acted as legal advisor to General Sir Mike Jackson, commander of British forces in Kosovo, in the negotiations that followed the war there.

He was also involved in setting up the internationally-administered government structure in Kosovo following the withdrawal of Serbian forces.

With perhaps a degree of understatement, he describes his job there -- the setting up of a functioning government and judiciary while attempting to prevent Serbs and Kosovan Albanians from killing each other -- as 'some of the most interesting work I've done'.About 30% of ALS work comprises its role as the army's equivalent of the CPS, reviewing and acting in disciplinary courts-martial cases.

The remainder of their work involves acting in an advisory role to the army.

This might include advising on boards of inquiry into training accidents, on internal complaints by servicemen and women, lower-level summary discipline cases or criminal injury compensation, as well as on operational matters both in the UK and overseas.The ALS is a branch of the Adjutant-General Corps, which also incorporates the uniformed military police and other administrative divisions.

It is based on a windswept hill near Andover, close to the large military training area of Salisbury Plain.

Despite the isolation, its lawyers seem happy to be working there, undisturbed except for the occasional nearby tank manoeuvres or fighter planes screaming overhead.Major Nigel Heppenstall arrived his current job with the ALS after a three-year stint as an officer in the Parachute Regiment.

'I decided that it would be useful in the long-term to become a lawyer,' he says.

After taking the CPE and the legal practice course, he did a three-year training contract at a high street law firm, re-joining the army two years ago.

He has recently returned from Georgia (in the former USSR), where he operated an investigation group for the UN on ceasefire violations; currently, he has become involved in training for the Human Rights Act.

This has taken him to the Falkland Islands, Bosnia, Gibraltar and Brunei.

'It was quite an exciting time', he says.

He now advises operational units on the law regarding armed conflict and rules of engagement.All this makes quite a change from the type of work he did while in training.

'With the UN, I was chairing inter-governmental meetings and conferences, which was certainly different to doing somebody's divorce.

I don't think anything can prepare you for some of the challenges that you meet here.

A lot of the work is politically sensitive; for example, when you're dealing with the rules of engagement, it impacts on to policy matters at quite a high level.'Major Heppanstall says he enjoys his professional life.

And a legal career in the Army is to a greater extent a more challenging life than it is for a civilian lawyer, even one working long hours in a high-pressure environment.'In the Army you generally work with some very pleasant people, and my work as a lawyer is pretty interesting.

I'd say I get the best of both worlds.'