Defence Amendment Act 1998
DEFENCE AMENDMENT ACT 1998

1

BERMUDA
1998 : 31

DEFENCE AMENDMENT ACT 1998

[Date of Assent 13 July 1998]

[Operative Date 13 July 1998]

WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Defence Act 1965:

Be it enacted by The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Assembly of
Bermuda, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Citation
1 This Act may be cited as the Defence Amendment Act 1998.

Amends section 1 of the Act
2 Section 1 of the Defence Act 1965 ("the Act") is amended by
deleting the definition of "man of the regiment" or "man" and substituting
the following—

""man of the regiment" or "man" includes—

(a) a volunteer who is a woman;

(b) a warrant officer and a non-commissioned officer of the
regiment,

but does not include an officer;".

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Amends section 7 of the Act
3 Section 7 of the Act is amended—

(a) by designating the existing section as subsection (1);

(b) by deleting paragraphs (1)(a), (c) and (d);

(c) by the addition of the following new subsection—

" (2) In the exercise of his delegated
responsibilities for regiment matters the Minister for the
time being responsible for security services may consult
the Board.".

Amends section 11 of the Act
4 Section 11 of the Act is amended by the addition of the following
new subsection—

" (7) In making Governor's Orders in respect of
regiment matters responsibility for which has been
delegated to the Minister for the time being responsible
for security services, the Governor shall act on the
advice of the Minister.".

Amends section 15 of the Act
5 Section 15(2)(b) of the Act is repealed and the following is
substituted—

"(b) while he is enrolled as a full-time student in any school,
college or university;".

Repeals and replaces of section 27 of the Act
6 Section 27 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

"Conscientious objectors
27 (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing
provisions of this Part, a person may, at any time after reporting
under subsection 13A(2), apply to the Exemption Tribunal to be
registered as a conscientious objector on the grounds that—

(a) he conscientiously objects to performing
combatant duties; or

(b) he conscientiously objects to performing any
kind of military service.

(2) The Exemption Tribunal, if satisfied upon an
application under subsection (1) that the ground on which the

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application was made is established, shall inform the Governor
accordingly, and the Governor shall cause the name of the
conscientious objector to be entered in a register of conscientious
objectors to be kept by the Governor.

(3) If the Exemption Tribunal are not so satisfied they
shall inform the Governor accordingly.

(4) The Governor shall make arrangements for
securing that a person registered in the register of conscientious
objectors shall during the period for which he serves, or would
have served, by virtue of being called up for military service,—

(a) if an objector referred to in subsection (1)(a), be
employed only on non-combatant duties; and

(b) if an objector referred to in subsection (1)(b), be
required to perform alternative community
service of such kind as is approved by the
Governor and set out in an order made by the
Governor and published in the Gazette.".

Amends section 37 of the Act
7 Section 37 of the Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by deleting the words "Where a man of
the regiment (other than a warrant officer or a non-
commissioned officer)" and substituting the words
"Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where a man of the
regiment";

(b) in subsection (3), by inserting immediately before the
words "a non-commissioned officer" where they first
occur the words "a warrant officer or".

Inserts new section 37A in the Act
8 The Act is amended by inserting after section 37 the following
new section—

"Appeal to the Board
37A (1) Where a man of the regiment ("the appellant") has
received a disciplinary punishment under section 37 with which
he is aggrieved, he may, within fourteen days of receiving notice
of the disciplinary punishment, appeal to the Board by giving
notice in writing to the Board and to the person who made the
disciplinary award.

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(2) The appellant may include with the notice referred
to in subsection (1) any representations he wishes to bring to the
attention of the Board but, unless the Board otherwise orders,
neither the appellant nor the person who made the disciplinary
award shall be entitled to appear before the Board.

(3) The Board may call for a report from the person
who made the disciplinary award and shall at a meeting
determine the appeal.

(4) The Board may—

(a) affirm, reverse or vary any disciplinary
punishment imposed by the disciplinary award;
or

(b) remit the matter for determination on rehearing
by the person who made the disciplinary award
with or without any observations the Board
thinks fit to make.

(5) The decision of the Board on an appeal shall be
final.

(6) Where the Board decides an appeal, it shall forward
to the Governor its recommendation with regard to the
disciplinary punishment to be imposed, together with the record
of the proceedings.".

Amends section 46 of the Act
9 Section 46 of the Act is amended by deleting subsection (3) and
substituting the following—

" (3) This section and section 47 apply in respect of a
member of the regiment, including any volunteer, at any time
during the period of his enlistment when the regiment is
embodied or he is otherwise called-up for service in the regiment,
and such service shall be deemed to be for the purpose of
undergoing military training.".

Inserts new section 42A in the Act
10 The Act is amended by inserting after section 42 the following
new section—

"Direction for sentence to be served in Warwick Camp
42A (1) Where a court of summary jurisdiction imposes on
a man of the regiment a sentence of imprisonment for a period
not exceeding 28 days in respect of an offence under this Act

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committed when the regiment was not embodied or in camp, the
court may direct that the sentence by served in Warwick Camp
rather than in prison.

(2) The Commanding Officer shall make arrangements
to give effect to the direction of the court under subsection (1).

(3) A man of the regiment who is the subject of a
direction of the court under subsection (1) shall be detained at
Warwick Camp in the same manner as if he had been ordered to
be detained by the Commanding Officer under section 37(3)(b).".

Amends the First Schedule to the Act
11 The First Schedule to the Act is amended by inserting after
paragraph 1 the following—

"1A (1) The Minister for the time being having delegated
responsibility for security services may appoint a barrister as
counsel to the Exemption Tribunal who shall provide legal advice
to the Tribunal on the exercise of their functions.

(2) The person appointed under sub-paragraph (1) is
not a member of the Exemption Tribunal.".