Defence Act, 1954

Existing regular officers and existing reserve officers to be deemed to be commissioned under this Act.

295.—(1) (a) Every existing regular officer shall, on the operative date, without any re-appointment or the taking or making of any fresh oath or declaration, become and be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force and shall, subject to this Act, hold in the Permanent Defence Force the rank, appointment and precedence which he held in the existing permanent force immediately before the operative date.

(b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection the word “appointment” does not include any of the following offices (being offices mentioned in section 4 of the Defence Forces Act, 1937 (No. 41 of 1937)), namely, the office of Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, the office of Adjutant-General of the Defence Forces and the office of Quartermaster-General of the Defence Forces.

(2) Every existing reserve officer shall, on the operative date, without any re-appointment or the taking or making of any fresh oath or declaration, become and be an officer of the Reserve Defence Force and shall, subject to this Act, hold in the Reserve Defence Force the rank, appointment and precedence which he held in the existing Reserve of Officers immediately before the operative date and shall be deemed to have been assigned under section 44 to the class of the Reserve Defence Force which corresponds to the class of the existing Reserve of Officers to which he belongs immediately before the operative date.