S.L. 220.4 Art. 20Duties of convening officer when convening courts-martial. Cap. 9.

(1) Subject to sub-rules (2) and (3), when an officer convenes a court-martial he shall:

(a) issue a convening order in the appropriate form set out in the Fourth Schedule;

(b) direct upon what charges the accused is to be tried and ensure that the accused has been remanded for trial by court-martial upon those charges either by his commanding officer or by the appropriate superior authority who has investigated them;

(c) if he is of the opinion that charges should be put in separate charge-sheets, so direct and direct the order in which they are to be tried;

(d) direct, if there is more than one accused, whether the accused are to be tried jointly or separately;

(e) appoint the president and members of the court and any waiting members in accordance with rule 21;

(f) if convening -

(i) a general court-martial; or

(ii) a district or field general court martial at which he considers there should be a judge advocate, take the necessary steps to procure the appointment of a judge advocate by or on behalf of the Attorney General, and failing such appointment, himself appoint a suitable person so to act;

(g) appoint an officer subject to military law or counsel assisted by such an officer to prosecute or detail a commanding officer to appoint an officer subject to military law to prosecute: Provided that the convening officer may appoint two such officers to prosecute if he thinks fit;

(h) appoint the date, time and place for the trial;

(i) send to the president the charge-sheet, the convening order and a copy of the summary or abstract of evidence from which any evidence which in his opinion would be inadmissible under the Act at the court-martial has been expurgated;

(j) send to each member of the court and to each waiting member a copy of the charge-sheet;

(k) send to the prosecutor copies of the charge-sheet and convening order and the original summary or abstract of evidence together with an unexpurgated copy thereof showing the passages (if any) which have been expurgated in the copy sent to the president;

(l) send to the judge advocate (if any) copies of the charge-sheet and convening order and an unexpurgated copy of the summary or abstract of evidence showing the passages (if any) which have been expurgated in the copy sent to the president;

(m) ensure that the accused is given a proper opportunity to prepare his defence in accordance with rule 23; and

(n) take steps in accordance with rule 88 to procure the attendance at the court-martial of all witnesses to be called for the prosecution and all witnesses whose attendance the accused has reasonably requested in accordance with rule 23: Provided that the convening officer may require the accused to defray or to undertake to defray, as the convening officer thinks fit, the cost of the attendance of a witness whose attendance he has requested and if the accused refuses to defray or to undertake to defray, as the case may be, such cost, the convening officer shall not be obliged to take any further steps to procure the attendance of that witness.

(2) When an officer convenes a field general court-martial he shall not be obliged to comply with sub-rule (1)(g), (i) (in so far as it relates to the copy of the summary or abstract of evidence sent to the president being expurgated), (j), (k) and (l), if, in his opinion, it is impracticable to do so.

(3) When an officer convenes a court-martial consequent on an order for a retrial made under the provisions of the Criminal Code as applied by article 116(2) of the Act, by the Court of Criminal Appeal -

(a) sub-rule (1)(b) shall not apply but the convening officer shall direct that a charge-sheet shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of article 496 of the said Code and with any directions which may have been given by the Court of Criminal Appeal, and that the accused shall be tried on the charge in that charge sheet;

(b) when it is proposed to tender any evidence given by any witness at the original trial as evidence at the retrial in accordance with the provisions of article 508(6) of the Code aforesaid the convening officer shall send to the accused as soon as practicable and in any case not less than twenty-four hours before his trial and also to the president, the judge advocate (if any) and the prosecutor a copy on any such evidence.