PART 7 | 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. |
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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. |
(5) To avoid doubt, where an oath or affirmation of allegiance is required to be taken under subsection (1), the president of the Military Court of Appeal may take the oath or make the affirmation by appearing before the Chief Justice through a live video link or live television link created using a remote communication technology that allows the Chief Justice to —| (a) | maintain visual contact and communicate with the person taking the oath or making the affirmation, and any interpreter present, throughout the process; and | | (b) | confirm the identity of the person taking the oath or making the affirmation, and any interpreter present. [Act 25 of 2023 wef 01/12/2023] |
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(6) Where an oath or affirmation is required to be administered under subsection (2) or (3), any requirement in subsection (2) or (3) for the person taking the oath or making the affirmation to appear before the president of the Military Court of Appeal is deemed satisfied if —| (a) | the person taking the oath or making the affirmation, and the president of the Military Court of Appeal, do so in accordance with any requirements that may be prescribed through any electronic means of communication created by remote communication technology as set out in the Second Schedule; and | | (b) | the electronic means of communication allows the president of the Military Court of Appeal to —| (i) | communicate with the person taking the oath or making the affirmation, and any interpreter present, throughout the process; and | | (ii) | confirm the identity of the person taking the oath or making the affirmation, and any interpreter present. [Act 25 of 2023 wef 01/12/2023] |
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| 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, a fax number or an electronic mail address to which any notices or documents connected with the appeal may be served upon the appellant or the appellant’s counsel. [Act 24 of 2022 wef 28/10/2022] |
(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 (called in this subsection the appeal documents) to be served on the appellant or the appellant’s counsel —| (a) | by delivering the appeal documents at the address mentioned in the notice of appeal to —| (i) | the appellant; | | (ii) | where the appellant is not present at the address and the address is a business address — the appellant’s counsel or any other adult person present at the address; or | | (iii) | where the appellant is not present at the address and the address is a residential address — an adult person who is a member of the appellant’s family; |
| | (b) | by posting the appeal documents by registered post addressed to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be) at the address mentioned in the notice of appeal; | | (c) | by addressing the appeal documents to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be), and transmitting the documents by fax to the fax number mentioned in the notice of appeal; | | (d) | by addressing the appeal documents to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be), and transmitting the documents to the electronic mail address mentioned in the notice of appeal; or | | (e) | by any other prescribed method. [Act 24 of 2022 wef 28/10/2022] |
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| (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 permission 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. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| (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 or enforcement. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| (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). |
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| 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. |
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. |
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| 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. |
| 134. The appellant may at any time, with the permission of the president of the Military Court of Appeal, withdraw the appellant’s 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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] |
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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. |
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| Powers of Military Court of Appeal |
| Interpretation of this Part |
| 141. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “appellant” includes the Director, Legal Services of the Singapore Armed Forces. |
| Power to quash conviction as wrong in law, etc. |
142.—(1) The Military Court of Appeal is to allow an appeal against conviction by a subordinate military court if the Court thinks —| (a) | that the finding of the subordinate military court under all the circumstances of the case is unsafe or unsatisfactory; | | (b) | that the finding involves a wrong decision of a question of law; or | | (c) | that there was a material irregularity in the course of the trial, |
| and in any other case is to dismiss the appeal. |
| (2) The Military Court of Appeal may, even though it is of the opinion that the point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, dismiss the appeal if it considers that no miscarriage of justice has actually occurred. |
| (3) If the Military Court of Appeal allows an appeal against conviction, the Court is to quash the conviction. |
| (4) In an appeal from an order of acquittal, the Military Court of Appeal may reverse the order and direct that further enquiry is to be made or that the accused is to, subject to section 149, be re‑tried or find the accused guilty and pass sentence on the accused according to law. |
(5) At the hearing of an appeal, the Military Court of Appeal may subject to this Part —| (a) | if the appeal is against a conviction —| (i) | reverse the finding and sentence and acquit the accused or order the accused to be re‑tried under section 149; | | (ii) | alter the finding, maintain the sentence or, with or without altering the finding, reduce or enhance the sentence; or | | (iii) | with or without reduction or enhancement and with or without altering the finding, alter the nature of the sentence; |
| | (b) | if the appeal is against sentence, reduce or enhance the sentence or alter the nature of the sentence; | | (c) | if the appeal is from any other order, alter or reverse the order. |
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| Adjustment of sentence in case of conviction on 2 or more charges |
143. Where —| (a) | it appears to the Military Court of Appeal that an appellant, though not properly convicted on some charge preferred against the appellant before the subordinate military court by which he or she was tried, was properly convicted on some other charge so preferred; and | | (b) | the sentence passed by the subordinate military court on the appellant was not warranted for the offence of which he or she was convicted on the other charge, |
| the Court is to pass on the appellant, in substitution for the sentence passed on the appellant by the subordinate military court, a sentence so warranted that the Court thinks proper. |
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| Substitution of conviction on different charge |
144.—(1) This section applies where an appellant has been convicted of an offence and the subordinate military court by which the appellant was tried could lawfully have found him or her guilty of some other offence, and it appears to the Military Court of Appeal that the subordinate military court must have been satisfied of the facts which proved the appellant guilty of that other offence.| (2) The Military Court of Appeal may in the circumstances described in subsection (1), instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the finding of the subordinate military court a finding of guilty of the other offence, and may pass on the appellant, in substitution for the sentence passed on the appellant by the subordinate military court, a sentence that the Court thinks proper, being a sentence warranted by that other offence. |
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| Variation of conviction so as to attract different sentence |
145.—(1) Where an appellant has been convicted of an offence committed under circumstances involving the higher of 2 degrees of punishment, and it appears to the Military Court of Appeal that the subordinate military court by which the appellant was tried ought to have found him or her guilty of the offence as being committed under circumstances involving the lower degree of punishment, the Court may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the finding of the subordinate military court a finding of guilty of the offence as being committed under circumstances involving the lower degree of punishment.| (2) Where an appellant has been convicted of an offence and it appears to the Military Court of Appeal that the subordinate military court by which the appellant was tried ought to have found him or her guilty of the offence subject to exceptions or variations, the Court may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the finding of the subordinate military court a finding of guilty of the offence subject to exceptions or variations. |
| (3) Where the Military Court of Appeal exercises the power conferred by subsection (1) or (2), the Court may pass on the appellant, in substitution for the sentence passed on the appellant by the subordinate military court, a sentence that the Court thinks proper, being a sentence warranted for the offence specified or involved in the substituted finding. |
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| Substitution of finding of insanity or unfitness to plead |
| 146. Where on an appeal the Military Court of Appeal is of the opinion that the proper finding should have been a finding that the accused was not guilty by reason of insanity or that the accused was unfit to stand trial, the Court is to order that the accused be kept in custody and dealt with in accordance with the procedure laid down in regulations made under this Act where a subordinate military court makes a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity or a finding of unfitness to stand trial. |
| Term of sentence passed under section 142, 143, 144 or 145 |
| 147. The term of any sentence passed by the Military Court of Appeal under section 142, 143, 144 or 145 starts to run, unless the Court otherwise directs, from the time from which it would have started to run if it had been passed in the proceedings from which the appeal was brought. |
| Re‑trial generally excluded |
| 148. Subject to the provisions of this Act, where the conviction of a person by a subordinate military court for an offence has been quashed under this Act, the person shall not be liable to be tried again for that offence by a subordinate military court or by a civil court or by a disciplinary officer. |
| Power to authorise re‑trial in certain cases |
149.—(1) The Military Court of Appeal has power, on quashing a conviction or reversing an order of acquittal, to make an order authorising the appellant to be re‑tried by a subordinate military court.| (2) The Military Court of Appeal may only exercise the power under subsection (1) when the appeal against conviction or an order of acquittal is allowed by reason only of evidence received or available to be received by the Court under section 152 and it appears to the Court that the interests of justice require that an order under this section should be made. |
(3) An appellant must not be re‑tried under this section for an offence other than —| (a) | the offence of which the appellant was convicted by the original subordinate military court and in respect of which his or her appeal is allowed as mentioned in subsection (2); | | (b) | any offence of which the appellant could have been convicted at the original subordinate military court on a charge of the firstmentioned offence; or | | (c) | any offence charged in the alternative in respect of which the subordinate military court recorded no finding in consequence of convicting the appellant of the firstmentioned offence. |
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| (4) A person who is to be re‑tried under this section for an offence is, if the Military Court of Appeal so directs, to be re‑tried on a fresh charge or charges specified in the direction. |
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| Implementation of authority for re‑trial, and supplementary orders of Military Court of Appeal |
150.—(1) The limitations imposed in this Act with respect to the time within which a trial may be started do not apply in the case of a re‑trial authorised by an order of the Military Court of Appeal under section 142(4) or 149.| (2) The Military Court of Appeal may, where it authorises a re‑trial, make any orders that appear to it to be necessary or expedient for the retention until the relevant time of property or money which has been restored, delivered or paid pursuant to an order made on or in consequence of the original conviction or has been placed in safe custody while the operation of any such order is suspended. |
| (3) In subsection (2), the reference to “the relevant time” is a reference to the time when the case is finally disposed of except that for the purposes of that subsection the relevant time, in a case where the appellant is found guilty on his or her re‑trial, is the end of 28 days starting with the date of the finding. |
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| Presentation of appellant’s case |
| 151. An appellant that so desires may, instead of presenting his or her case orally, present it in writing in the prescribed form. |
152.—(1) The Military Court of Appeal may —| (a) | order the production of any document, exhibit or other thing connected with the proceedings the production of which appears to them necessary for the determination of the case; | | (b) | order any witness who would have been a compellable witness at the trial to attend for examination and be examined before the Court, whether or not the witness was called at the trial; and | | (c) | receive the evidence, if tendered, of any witness. |
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), where evidence is tendered to the Military Court of Appeal under that subsection, the Court may, unless it is satisfied that the evidence if received would not afford any ground for allowing the appeal, exercise its power under that subsection of receiving it if —| (a) | it appears to the Court that the evidence is likely to be credible and would have been admissible at the trial on an issue which is the subject of the appeal; and | | (b) | the Court is satisfied that it was not adduced at the trial, but there is a reasonable explanation of the failure to adduce it. |
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| (3) Subsection (1)(c) applies to any witness (including the appellant) who is competent but not compellable, and applies also to the appellant’s husband or wife where the appellant makes an application for that purpose and the evidence of the husband or wife could not have been given at the trial except on such an application. |
| (4) The Military Court of Appeal may order the examination of any witness whose attendance may be required under subsection (1)(b) to be conducted in the prescribed manner before any member of the Court or before any other person appointed by the Court for that purpose, and allow the admission of any depositions so taken as evidence before the Court. |
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| Mode of taking additional evidence |
153.—(1) Without affecting section 152 in dealing with any appeal, the Military Court of Appeal may, if it thinks additional evidence is necessary, either take the evidence itself or direct it to be taken by the trial court.| (2) When any additional evidence is taken by the trial court, it is to certify that evidence, with a statement of its opinion on the case considered with regard to the additional evidence, to the Military Court of Appeal, and the Military Court of Appeal is to thereupon proceed to dispose of the appeal. |
| (3) The parties to the appeal must be present when any additional evidence is taken. |
| (4) In dealing with any appeal, the Military Court of Appeal may also call for and receive from the trial court a report of any matter connected with the trial. |
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154.—(1) Once the hearing of an appeal ends, the Military Court of Appeal is to, either at once or on some future date which must either then be appointed for the purpose or of which notice must subsequently be given to the parties, deliver judgment in open Court.| (2) The Military Court of Appeal is to ordinarily give only one judgment which may be pronounced by the president of the Court or by any other member of the Court that the president may direct but separate judgments are to be delivered if the president so directs. |
| (3) The judgment of any member of the Military Court of Appeal who is absent may be read by any other member. |
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| Judgment to be certified to trial court |
155.—(1) The Military Court of Appeal is to certify its judgment or order to the trial court.| (2) The trial court is to thereupon make such orders as are conformable to the judgment or order of the Military Court of Appeal, and, if necessary, the record must be amended in accordance therewith. |
| (3) Upon the withdrawal or discontinuance of any appeal, the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal is to notify the trial court accordingly and if any stay of execution or enforcement has been granted, the sentence or order of the trial court must forthwith be enforced. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
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| Appeal not to operate as stay of execution or enforcement |
| 156.—(1) Except in the cases mentioned in subsection (4), no appeal operates as a stay of execution or enforcement. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] | (2) The trial court may stay execution or enforcement on any judgment, order, conviction or sentence pending appeal on such terms as to security for the payment of any money or the performance or non-performance of any act or the suffering of any punishment ordered by or in such judgment, order, conviction or sentence as to the Military Court of Appeal may seem reasonable. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| (3) If the appellant is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment, the time during which the execution of the sentence was stayed must be excluded in computing the term of the sentence unless the Military Court of Appeal otherwise orders. |
(4) In the case of a conviction involving sentence of death —| (a) | the sentence must not in any case be executed until after the end of the time within which notice of appeal may be given, or any extension of time which may be permitted, under section 129; and | | (b) | if notice is so given the sentence must not be executed until after the determination of the appeal. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
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| Summary rejection of appeal |
157.—(1) Where —| (a) | the grounds of appeal do not raise any question of law; and | | (b) | it appears to the Military Court of Appeal that —| (i) | the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction; and | | (ii) | there is no material in the circumstances of the case which could raise a reasonable doubt whether the conviction was right or lead the Court to consider that the sentence ought to be reduced, |
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| the appeal may, without being set down for hearing, be summarily rejected by an order under the hand of the president of the Court, certifying that the members of the Court, having perused the record, are satisfied that the appeal has been brought without any sufficient ground of complaint. |
| (2) Notice of a rejection under subsection (1) must be served upon the appellant. |
| (3) If, in any case rejected under subsection (1), the appellant gives, within 7 days of service of notice of rejection upon him or her, notice to the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal of application for permission to amend his or her grounds of appeal so as to raise a question of law, accompanied by a certificate signed by an advocate and solicitor specifying the question to be raised and undertaking to argue it, the Military Court of Appeal may grant the appellant permission to amend accordingly and must restore the appeal for hearing. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the question whether a sentence ought to be reduced is deemed not to be a question of law. |
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| Reference of point of law to Military Court of Appeal in case of acquittal by subordinate military court |
158.—(1) When any person has been acquitted in a trial before a subordinate military court and the Director, Legal Services of the Singapore Armed Forces has, within one month from the date of the acquittal or such time as the Military Court of Appeal may permit, signed and filed with the registrar of the Court a certificate that the determination of the trial involved a question of law which it is desirable to have determined by the Military Court of Appeal, the Court is to review the case or such part of it as may be necessary and deliver a declaratory judgment thereon.| (2) A declaratory judgment of the Military Court of Appeal under subsection (1) does not operate to reverse an order of acquittal, but that judgment is then binding upon all other subordinate military courts in the same manner as an ordinary judgment of the Military Court of Appeal. |
| (3) Only the Director, Legal Services of the Singapore Armed Forces may exercise the powers conferred by this section. |
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| 159. The Military Court of Appeal may make such order as to the whole or any part of the costs of appeal or the whole or any part of the costs in a subordinate military court as the Court thinks fit. |
| No appeal from Military Court of Appeal |
| 160. No appeal lies from any decision of the Military Court of Appeal. |
| Regulations of procedure in Military Court of Appeal |
| 161. The Armed Forces Council may by regulations made under this Act provide for the procedure and practice to be followed in the Military Court of Appeal. |
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