I move amendment No. 237:—
To delete sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) and substitute the following:—
(1) A general court-martial shall consist of a president and four other members of equal rank to the president appointed by the convening authority.
(2) Where the person to be tried is an officer the president shall be an officer holding a rank equal to or higher than that of such person.
(3) No officer shall be appointed as president or member of a general court-martial who has less than 15 years' service as an officer of the Defence Forces.
This amendment introduces something that may be considered novel in the constitution of courts-martial. I put the amendment down because, for a considerable period, I have thought that something on those lines would be desirable. At present and under this section a general court-martial normally consists of a president, a colonel and four other officers. On occasions there was a feeling that the president of a court-martial, by virtue of his superior rank, was able to influence other members, perhaps against their better judgment. I feel that that objection to courts-martial could be removed by providing that the officers constituting the court would be equal in rank. The president would take the position of president by virtue of seniority rather than by rank. Where the person to be tried is an officer, the president and members should be of a rank equal to or higher than that of the accused person and no person should be a president or member of a general court-martial who had less than 15 years' service as an officer of the Defence Forces. I always feel that it is desirable that before an officer sits on a court-martial he should have a considerable amount of experience. It is very useful thing to have and I do not see that there would be any difficulty in having general courts-martial consisting of officers with at least that experience. The amendment is undoubtedly new and novel and perhaps will not commend itself, but I am putting it forward for consideration.