Court Martial Act 2007

Preliminary provisions relating to Court Martial - Constitution of Court Martial for proceedings - Assignment of military members of Court Martial

25: Officers of other forces may be assigned as military members in certain circumstances

You could also call this:

"Other country's officers can help in New Zealand military trials in certain situations."

You can have officers from other countries' forces as military members in certain situations. This happens when you need to try someone in a particular place or situation. The Registrar thinks there are not enough New Zealand officers available because of where or how the trial is happening. You can assign an officer from another country if that country is working with New Zealand forces under section 23B of the Defence Act 1990. This officer must have been serving for more than three years. Only one officer from another country can be assigned as a military member. The Registrar makes this decision when New Zealand does not have enough officers to meet the requirements outlined in section 24(1) or (2). This is because of the operational needs of the Armed Forces. The Registrar's decision is based on these needs.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1001955.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

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24: Registrar must consider other factors in assigning military members, or

"The Registrar picks fair military members for a Court Martial, considering your rank and job."

26: Procedure for assigning military members, or

Part 1Preliminary provisions relating to Court Martial
Constitution of Court Martial for proceedings: Assignment of military members of Court Martial

25Officers of other forces may be assigned as military members in certain circumstances

This section applies if—
it is necessary to try an accused at a particular place or under particular circumstances; and
because of that place or those circumstances, the Registrar considers that the minimum number of officers required by section 24(1) or (2) cannot, having regard to the operational requirements of the Armed Forces, be assigned as military members.

The Registrar may assign an officer of a force of another State to be a military member if that State has been declared to be serving together with a New Zealand force under section 23B of the Defence Act 1990.
However, only 1 officer may be assigned as a military member under subsection (2), and that person may not be assigned unless he or she has served as an officer for a period of more than 3 years (whether continuously or in aggregate).