Defence (Amendment) Act, 1987

Amendment of section 208 of Principal Act.

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.”.