Courts-Martial Handbook - Tapa dura

The Army, Air Force and Navy operate separate legal procedures to UK systems. Their laws only fold into the UK system after their appeal procedure has been exhausted with recourse to the Court of Appeal and ultimately the House of Lords. Armed Forces legal systems not only apply to military personnel but also to certain civilians (primarily family members stationed aboard and contractors). There are three types of courts martial: district court-martial; general court-martial; and field general court-martial. There is an increasing move towards practitioners representing both parties at courts-martial and this is resulting in more lawyers having exposure to courts-martial. This is a practical guide to the Armed Forces legal systems.