General provisions
Establishment, jurisdiction and powers of Military Court of Appeal
127.—(1)  A Military Court of Appeal is established which is a superior court of record consisting of —
(a)a president who is, or is a person qualified to be, a Supreme Court Judge appointed by the Chief Justice; and
(b)4 other members 2 of whom are qualified persons of at least 5 years standing and 2 of whom are officers of or above the rank of captain or senior military experts.
[28/2009; 40/2019]
(2)  The 2 members of the Military Court of Appeal who are qualified persons must be appointed by the Armed Forces Council from a panel of qualified persons and the 2 members who are officers or senior military experts must be selected by the Armed Forces Council from a panel of officers and senior military experts.
[28/2009]
(3)  Despite subsections (1) and (2), where an appeal is made to the Military Court of Appeal in a case of murder or culpable homicide not amounting to murder or an offence under section 121 or 121A of the Penal Code 1871, the Court must consist of a president and 2 other members all of whom are Supreme Court Judges appointed by the Chief Justice.
[40/2019]
(4)  There may be paid to the qualified persons appointed under subsection (2) such remuneration and allowances as the Armed Forces Council may determine.
(5)  The Military Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear and determine any appeal by a person convicted by a subordinate military court subject nevertheless to the provisions of this Part regulating the terms and conditions upon which such appeals may be brought.
(6)  The Military Court of Appeal has for the purposes of the provisions of this Act full power to determine, in accordance with this Act, any question necessary to be determined to do justice in any case before the Court and may issue any warrants necessary for enforcing its orders or sentences.
(7)  The determination of any question before a Military Court of Appeal must be according to the opinion of the majority of the members of the Court hearing the case.
(8)  An appeal by a person convicted by a subordinate military court must be either against the conviction, or against sentence or against both, except that where an accused person has pleaded guilty and has been convicted on such plea by a subordinate military court there is no appeal except as to the extent or legality of the sentence.
(9)  An appeal may lie on a question of fact or a question of law or on a question of mixed fact and law.
(10)  The Director, Legal Services of the Singapore Armed Forces may appeal against an acquittal by a subordinate military court or a sentence of a subordinate military court which is manifestly inadequate.
Oath and affirmation
128.—(1)  Before the president of the Military Court of Appeal enters upon the execution of his or her office, he or she must take in the presence of the Chief Justice the oath or affirmation of allegiance in the prescribed form.
(2)  An oath or an affirmation in the prescribed form must be administered by the president of the Military Court of Appeal to every member of the Court before the appeal starts.
(3)  An oath or an affirmation in the prescribed form must be administered by the president of the Military Court of Appeal to every shorthand writer or interpreter (if any) in attendance at the appeal.
(4)  Every witness before the Military Court of Appeal must be examined on oath or on affirmation, which the president of the Court or other prescribed person must administer in the approved form.
Notice and petition of appeal
129.—(1)  An appeal is brought by way of a notice of appeal, signed by the appellant and lodged with the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal.
(2)  A notice of appeal must be lodged within 10 days after the date on which the decision appealed against was given except that the Military Court of Appeal may, on the application of any party desirous of appealing showing sufficient cause, extend the time for the lodging of an appeal upon such terms and subject to such directions as the Court thinks fit.
(3)  The other party to the proceedings before the subordinate military court from whose decision or sentence the appeal is lodged is the respondent to the appeal.
(4)  Every notice of appeal must contain an address to which any notices or documents connected with the appeal may be served upon the appellant or the appellant’s counsel.
(5)  When a notice of appeal has been lodged, the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal must cause a copy of the grounds of decision in the case signed by the president of the subordinate military court and a copy of the record of proceedings to be served on the appellant or the appellant’s counsel —
(a)by leaving it at the address mentioned in the notice of appeal; or
(b)by posting it by registered post addressed to the appellant at that address.
(6)  Within 10 days or such extension of time as the Military Court of Appeal may permit, after the copies of the grounds of decision and of the record of proceedings have been served as provided in subsection (5), the appellant or the appellant’s counsel must lodge with the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal a petition of appeal signed by the appellant or the appellant’s counsel and addressed to the Military Court of Appeal.
(7)  Every petition of appeal must state shortly the substance of the judgment appealed against and the grounds of appeal and must include particulars of the points of law or fact in regard to which the subordinate military court is alleged to have erred.
(8)  Except by leave of the Military Court of Appeal, the appellant is not to be permitted at the hearing of the appeal to rely on any grounds of appeal other than those set forth in the petition of appeal.
(9)  If a petition of appeal is not lodged within the time prescribed by this section, the appeal is deemed to have been withdrawn and the subordinate military court is to enforce its sentence or order where there has been a stay of execution.
(10)  Nothing in subsection (9) limits or restricts the power of extending the time for appeal and for the lodging of a petition of appeal conferred upon the Military Court of Appeal by subsections (2) and (6).
Bail pending appeal
130.  A subordinate military court may grant bail to any person who has lodged a notice of appeal against the person’s conviction or sentence in accordance with section 129.
Delivery of notice of appeal
131.  A copy of the notice of appeal must be delivered by the registrar to the president of the Military Court of Appeal and upon the issue of the convening order under section 132(1) to the other members of the Court and to the respondents.
Convening order
132.—(1)  Upon the lodging of a petition of appeal, the president of the Military Court of Appeal must issue a convening order.
(2)  A convening order must contain the following particulars:
(a)the particulars of the members of the Military Court of Appeal;
(b)the particulars of the appellant and the respondent;
(c)the date on which the hearing starts;
(d)the place of the hearing;
(e)any other particulars as may be prescribed in any regulations made under this Act.
Delivery of convening order
133.  A copy of the convening order must be delivered by the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal to the members of the Court, to the appellant and to the respondent as soon as possible.
Withdrawal of appeal
134.  The appellant may at any time, with the permission of the president of the Military Court of Appeal, withdraw the appellant’s appeal.
Joint or separate appeal
135.  The president of the Military Court of Appeal may order, where appeals by more than one party against a judgment have been submitted, that they must be heard jointly or separately.
Delivery of judgment and record to Military Court of Appeal
136.  Where an appeal has been lodged, the judgment, the record of the proceedings and any other relevant material of the subordinate military court must be delivered by the registrar to the president of the Military Court of Appeal, to the members of the Court and to the military prosecutor.
Proceedings in Military Court of Appeal
137.—(1)  Where a party to an appeal having been summoned does not attend, the Military Court of Appeal may hear the appeal in his or her absence.
(2)  During the hearing of the appeal, the appellant must be heard first and the respondent heard after the appellant; the appellant is then entitled to reply.
(3)  Where appeals by several persons are heard jointly, the president of the Military Court of Appeal must determine the order in which they are to be heard.
(4)  The president of the Military Court of Appeal may permit any party to present additional arguments.
Effect of death or sickness on Military Court of Appeal
138.—(1)  If the Military Court of Appeal, after the appeal starts, is by reason of death or otherwise reduced below the legal minimum, the Court must be dissolved.
(2)  If before the appeal starts, the president of the Military Court of Appeal dies or is otherwise unable to attend, the Court must be dissolved.
(3)  If, on account of the illness of the accused before the appeal is dealt with, it is impossible to continue the appeal, the Military Court of Appeal must be dissolved.
(4)  Where the Military Court of Appeal is dissolved under subsection (1), (2) or (3), the appeal must be dealt with at a later date.
Removal from office and bar to serve in Military Court of Appeal, etc.
139.—(1)  The Armed Forces Council may, on the advice of the Chief Justice, remove the president of the Military Court of Appeal from office for misbehaviour or for inability, whether from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause, properly to discharge the functions of his or her office.
(2)  The Armed Forces Council may bar any officer or senior military expert from serving as a member of a Military Court of Appeal or a subordinate military court for misbehaviour or for inability, whether from infirmity of body or mind or from any other cause, properly to discharge the functions of the office.
[28/2009]
Challenge by accused
140.—(1)  Where the appeal of an accused is about to be heard by the Military Court of Appeal, the accused may object for any reasonable cause to any member of the Court, other than the president of the Court, whether that member was appointed to serve thereon originally or to fill a vacancy caused by the retirement of a member objected to, so that the Court may consist of members to whom the accused makes no reasonable objection.
(2)  Upon an objection being made by an accused with regard to any member of the Military Court of Appeal, the objection must be submitted to the other members appointed to form the Court.
(3)  If the objection mentioned in subsection (2) is allowed by one half or more of the votes of the members entitled to vote, the objection is allowed and the member objected to must retire and his or her vacancy may be filled in the prescribed manner by another member subject to the same right to the accused person to object.
(4)  In order to enable the accused to avail himself or herself of the privilege of objecting to any member, the names of the members appointed to form the Military Court of Appeal must be read over in the hearing of the accused on their first assembly and before they are sworn and the accused must be asked whether he or she objects to any of those members and a like question must be repeated in respect of any member appointed to serve in lieu of a retiring member.