Defence Act 1954

Redress of wrongs.

114

114.(1) If an officer thinks himself wronged in any matter by any superior or other officer, including his commanding officer, he may complain thereof to his commanding officer and if, but only if, his commanding officer does not deal with the complaint to such officer’s satisfaction, he may complain in the prescribed manner to the F76[Chief of Staff] who shall inquire into the complaint and give his directions thereon.

(2) If any man thinks himself wronged in any matter by any officer, other than his company commander, or by any man he may complain thereof to his company commander, and if he thinks himself wronged by his company commander either in respect of his complaint not being redressed or in respect of any other matter, he may complain thereof to his commanding officer, and if he thinks himself wronged by his commanding officer, either in respect of his complaint not being redressed or in respect of any other matter, he may complain thereof in the prescribed manner to F77[the Chief of Staff], F78[] who shall inquire into the complaint and give his directions thereon.

(3) Every officer to whom a complaint is made in pursuance of this section shall cause such complaint to be inquired into, and shall, if on inquiry he is satisfied of the justice of the complaint so made, take such steps as may be necessary for giving full redress to the complainant in respect of the matter complained of, and shall in every case inform the complainant in the prescribed manner as to what action has been taken in respect of the matter complained of.

F79[(3A) The Chief of Staff shall cause every complaint seeking redress of wrongs under this section that is made in writing to be notified to the Minister and the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces as soon as practicable following the making of such complaint.

(3B) Where the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces has made a notification in writing in accordance with section 7 of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004, that section 5(1)(c), section 5(1)(d)(ii), section 5(1)(e)(ii)or section 5(1)(g) of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 applies to a complaint made under that Act by an officer or a man, the officer or the man, as the case may be, may submit that complaint to the Minister for determination by him or her.

(3C) The Minister may make regulations concerning the manner in which a notification referred to in subsection (3A) of this section and a report on such notification are to be made and the manner in which a complaint is to be submitted under subsection (3B) and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the regulations may

(a) specify a period or periods within which such reports are to be submitted and complaints referred, and

(b) the form and content of such notifications, reports and submissions.]

(4) The Minister shall make regulations providing for the personal submission, by any person subject to this Act, of any grievance to such officer and on such occasions as may be prescribed by such regulations.

F80[(5) This section shall not apply to

(a) any determination made, punishment awarded or compensation order made under section 177C, 178C or 179C, or

(b) the decision of a summary court-martial under section 178G following an appeal under section 178E.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F76

Substituted (1.12.2005) by Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 (36/2004), s. 13(a), S.I. No. 568 of 2005.

F77

Substituted (1.10.1998) by Defence (Amendment) Act 1998 (31/1998), s. 6, S.I. No. 366 of 1998.

F78

Deleted (1.12.2005) by Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 (36/2004), s. 13(b), S.I. No. 568 of 2005.

F79

Inserted (1.12.2005) by Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 (36/2004), s. 13(c), S.I. No. 568 of 2005.

F80

Inserted (21.04.2007) by Defence (Amendment) Act 2007 (24/2007), s. 9, commenced as per s. 1(3).

Modifications (not altering text):

C44

Further recourse provided (1.12.2005) by Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 (36/2004), s. 4(2)(d), S.I. No. 568 of 2005.

Functions of Ombudsman.

4.— ...

(2) Subject to this Act, the Ombudsman may investigate any action that is the subject of a complaint made by a person affected by the action if, having carried out a preliminary examination of the matter, it appears to the Ombudsman that— ...

(d) in the case of a serving member of the Defence Forces, the matter is not likely to be resolved and a period of 28 days has expired since the complaint was made under section 114 of the Act of 1954.

...

Editorial Notes:

E19

Complaint under section an alternative to complaint under Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 as provided (15.07.2014) by Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (14.2014), s. 13(2)(b)(iii), S.I. No. 327 of 2014.