Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Investigation and summary trial of charges - Miscellaneous matters - Other miscellaneous matters

117ZQ: Replacement of disciplinary officer

You could also call this:

"What happens when a disciplinary officer can't finish dealing with a charge"

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

If a disciplinary officer starts dealing with a charge, but then can't continue because they die, get ill, or have another reason, another officer can take their place. You can think of this new officer as a replacement who can keep dealing with the charge as if they were the original officer. The replacement officer can make decisions about the charge. If the original disciplinary officer had already found the accused person guilty before they became unable to continue, the new officer can't try the charge again. Instead, the new officer can look into the circumstances of the charge and then make a decision under subpart 4 as if they had found the accused person guilty themselves. There are rules that explain how a new officer becomes the disciplinary officer and how they deal with the charge. This section does not apply if the original disciplinary officer can't continue because they need to refer the charge to someone else, or if there's a different procedure to follow.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2096996.

This page was last updated on 1 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

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Part 5Investigation and summary trial of charges
Miscellaneous matters: Other miscellaneous matters

117ZQReplacement of disciplinary officer

If at any time a disciplinary officer has begun to act under this Part in relation to a charge, and, because of death, illness, or any other reason, he or she is unable to continue to act as the disciplinary officer in relation to the charge, the officer who becomes the disciplinary officer in his or her place may act under this Part in relation to the charge as if the officer whom he or she replaced had not commenced to do so.
Despite subsection (1), if the disciplinary officer who has become incapacitated had, before his or her incapacity, found the accused guilty, the disciplinary officer who becomes the disciplinary officer in his or her place must not try the charge summarily but may instead, after inquiring into the circumstances of the charge, act under subpart 4 as if he or she had found the accused guilty himself or herself.
The rules of procedure may contain further provisions concerning how—
an officer becomes the disciplinary officer in place of an officer who is unable to continue to act in relation to a charge; and
the officer who becomes the disciplinary officer must deal with the charge.

This section does not apply if—
the disciplinary officer is unable to continue to act as the disciplinary officer in relation to the charge because, in accordance with this Part, the disciplinary officer is required to refer the charge to another person; or
this Part otherwise provides for a different procedure to be followed in the event that the disciplinary officer is unable to continue to act as the disciplinary officer in relation to the charge.

Notes

Section 117ZQ: inserted, on 1 July 2009, by section 37 of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act (No 2) 2007 (2007 No 98).