Defence (Amendment) Act 1987

Amendment of section 208 of Principal Act.

12

12.Section 208 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) If any person not subject to military law—

(a) having been duly summoned as a witness before a court-martial, without just cause or excuse disobeys the summons, or

(b) being in attendance as a witness at a court-martial, without just cause or excuse fails or refuses to take an oath or make a solemn declaration when legally required by the court-martial to do so, or to produce any document, record or other thing in his power or control legally required by the court-martial to be produced by him, or to answer any question to which the court-martial may legally require an answer, or

(c) does anything, whether at the court-martial or otherwise, which, if the court-martial were a civil court having power to commit for contempt, would be contempt of court,

the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”.