Part 2 continued    

(a)the adequacy of legal, welfare and mental health support services
provided to service personnel who are accused of crimes;

(b) complaints made by service personnel or their legal representation
when in the process of bringing or attempting to bring civil claims
5against the Ministry of Defence for negligence and personal injury;

(c) complaints made by service personnel or their legal representation
when in the process of investigation or litigation for an accusation of
misconduct;

(d) meeting national standards of care and safeguarding for families of
10service personnel, where relevant.

(6)In subsection (1) “service personnel” means—

(a)members of the regular forces and the reserve forces;

(b) members of British overseas territory forces who are subject to service
law;

(c)15 former members of any of Her Majesty’s forces who are ordinarily
resident in the United Kingdom; and

(d)where relevant, family members of any person meeting the definition
within paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(7) In subsection (1) “duty of care” means both the legal and moral obligation of
20the Ministry of Defence to ensure the wellbeing of service personnel.

(8)None of the provisions of this section may be used to alter the principle of
combat immunity.

Part 3 General

15 25Power to make consequential provision

(1)The Secretary of State or the Lord Chancellor may by regulations make
provision that is consequential on any provision made by this Act.

(2)Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument and—

(a)may include transitional or saving provision;

(b)30may amend, repeal or revoke any provision of or made under primary
legislation.

(3)The provision referred to in subsection (2)(b) does not include a provision of
legislation passed or made after the end of the session of Parliament in which
this Act is passed.

(4)35A statutory instrument containing (whether alone or with other provision)
regulations under this section that amend, repeal or revoke primary legislation
may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and
approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(5)Any other statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is
40subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of
Parliament.

(6)In this section “primary legislation” means—

(a)an Act,

(b)an Act of the Scottish Parliament, or

(c)Northern Ireland legislation.

16 Extent

(1)This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, subject
as follows.

(2)5Section 9 and Schedule 2 extend to England and Wales only.

(3)Section 10 and Schedule 3 extend to Scotland only.

(4)Section 11 and Schedule 4 extend to Northern Ireland only.

17 Commencement and application

(1)This Part comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.

(2)10The other provisions of this Act come into force on such day as the Secretary of
State or the Lord Chancellor may by regulations appoint.

(3)Different days may be appointed for different purposes.

(4)The Secretary of State or the Lord Chancellor may by regulations make
transitional or saving provision in connection with the coming into force of any
15provision of this Act.

(5)Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.

(6)None of the provisions of Part 1 applies to proceedings instituted before the
day on which the provision comes into force.

(7)Part 1 of Schedule 2 applies to an action brought on or after the date on which
20that Part comes into force, whenever the cause of action accrued.

(8)Part 1 of Schedule 3 applies to an action brought on or after the date on which
that Part comes into force, whenever the right of action accrued.

(9)Part 2 of Schedule 3 applies to an action brought on or after the date on which
that Part comes into force, whenever the events to which the action relates took
25place.

(10)Part 1 of Schedule 4 applies to an action brought on or after the date on which
that Part comes into force, whenever the cause of action accrued.

18 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and
30Veterans) Act 2021.

SCHEDULES

Section 6

Schedule 1 Excluded offences for the purposes of section 6

Part 1 5Criminal conduct etc under armed forces legislation

Criminal conduct etc under armed forces legislation

1(1)An offence under section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (criminal conduct)
is an “excluded offence” if the corresponding civil offence is an offence
referred to in any of paragraphs 2 to 13.

(2)10In sub-paragraph (1) the reference to section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006
is to be taken to include a reference to—

(a)section 70 of the Army Act 1955 (civil offences),

(b)section 70 of the Air Force Act 1955 (civil offences), and

(c)section 42 of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (civil offences).

15Corresponding offences under law of England and Wales (including under repealed provisions)

2An offence under any provision of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

3An offence under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960
(indecent conduct towards child under 14).

4An offence under section 54 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 (inciting child
20under 16 to commit incest).

5An offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (indecent
photographs of children).

6An offence under section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (possession of
indecent photograph of a child).

725An offence under any provision of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

8An offence under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act
2008 (possession of extreme pornographic images).

9An offence under section 62 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (possession
of prohibited images of children).

1030An offence under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
(disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause
distress).

11An offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (human
trafficking) committed with a view to exploitation that consists of or
includes behaviour within section 3(3) of that Act (sexual exploitation).

12An offence at common law of outraging public decency.

135An offence within any of paragraphs 17 to 19 (certain crimes against
humanity and war crimes).

14A reference in paragraphs 2 to 13 to an offence (“offence A”) includes—

(a)a reference to an attempt to commit offence A,

(b)a reference to a conspiracy to commit offence A,

(c)10a reference to incitement to commit offence A,

(d)a reference to an offence under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007
in relation to which offence A is the offence (or one of the offences)
which the person intended or believed would be committed, and

(e)a reference to aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring the
15commission of offence A.

Interpretation etc

15(1)In paragraph 1(1) the reference to the “corresponding civil offence” is—

(a)in relation to an offence under section 42 of the Armed Forces Act
2006, to the corresponding offence under the law of England and
20Wales within the meaning of that section;

(b)in relation to an offence under section 70 of the Army Act 1955 or
section 70 of the Air Force Act 1955, to the corresponding civil
offence within the meaning of that Act;

(c)in relation to an offence under section 42 of the Naval Discipline Act
251957, to the civil offence within the meaning of that section.

(2) Section 48 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (supplementary provisions relating
to ancillary service offences) applies for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a)
as it applies for the purposes of the provisions of that Act referred to in
subsection (3)(b) of that section.

30Part 2 International Criminal Court Act 2001

Excluded offences within this Part

16An offence under the law of England and Wales or Northern Ireland within
any of paragraphs 17 to 22 is an “excluded offence” in that part of the United
35Kingdom.

England and Wales

17An offence under section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001
(genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) of committing—

(a)a crime against humanity within article 7.1(g), or

(b)40a war crime within—

(i)article 8.2(b)(xxii) (which relates to international conflict), or

(ii)8.2(e)(vi) (which relates to armed conflicts not of an
international character).

18An ancillary offence under the law of England and Wales in relation to an
offence within paragraph 17.

195An offence under subsection (1) of section 52 of the International Criminal
Court Act 2001 (conduct ancillary to war crimes etc committed outside
jurisdiction) where the act referred to in that subsection would, if committed
in England and Wales, constitute—

(a)an offence within paragraph 17, or

(b)10an offence within this paragraph.

Northern Ireland

20An offence under section 58 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001
(genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) of committing—

(a)a crime against humanity within article 7.1(g), or

(b)15a war crime within—

(i)article 8.2(b)(xxii) (which relates to international conflict), or

(ii)8.2(e)(vi) (which relates to armed conflicts not of an
international character).

21An ancillary offence under the law of Northern Ireland in relation to an
20offence within paragraph 20.

22An offence under subsection (1) of section 59 of the International Criminal
Court Act 2001 (conduct ancillary to war crimes etc committed outside
jurisdiction) where the act referred to in that subsection would, if committed
in Northern Ireland, constitute—

(a)25an offence within paragraph 20, or

(b)an offence within this paragraph.

Interpretation

23In this Part of this Schedule references to articles are to articles of the Statute
of the International Criminal Court, done at Rome on 17 July 1998.

2430In this Part of this Schedule—

(a)references to an ancillary offence under the law of England and
Wales are to be interpreted in accordance with section 55 of the
International Criminal Court Act 2001;

(b)references to an ancillary offence under the law of Northern Ireland
35are to be interpreted in accordance with section 62 of that Act.

Part 3 International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001

25An offence within any of paragraphs 26 to 28 is an “excluded offence” in
Scotland.

2640An offence under section 1(1) of the International Criminal Court (Scotland)
Act 2001 (asp 13) (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) of
committing—

(a)a crime against humanity within article 7.1(g), or

(b)a war crime within—

(i)article 8.2(b)(xxii) (which relates to international conflict), or

(ii)8.2(e)(vi) (which relates to armed conflicts not of an
5international character).

27An offence under section 2(1) of that Act (conduct ancillary to war crimes
etc) of engaging in conduct ancillary to an act that constitutes—

(a)an offence within paragraph 26, or

(b)an offence within this paragraph or paragraph 28.

2810An offence under subsection (3) of section 2 of that Act of engaging in
conduct ancillary to an act committed (or intended to be committed) outside
Scotland, where—

(a)the offence mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection is an
offence within paragraph 26, or

(b)15(as the case may be) the offence mentioned in paragraph (b) of that
subsection is an offence within paragraph 27.

Interpretation

29In this Part of this Schedule—

(a)references to an ancillary offence are to be interpreted in accordance
20with section 7 of the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act
2001;

(b)references to articles are to articles of the Statute of the International
Criminal Court, done at Rome on 17 July 1998.

Part 4 25Provisions extending jurisdiction in respect of certain sexual offences

Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003

30(1)Where by virtue of section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (offences
outside the United Kingdom) an act done outside the United Kingdom
constitutes an offence under the law of England and Wales or Northern
30Ireland, that offence is an “excluded offence” in that part of the United
Kingdom.

(2)Where by virtue of subsection (3) of that section proceedings for an offence
may be brought against a person in England and Wales or Northern Ireland
in respect of an act done outside the United Kingdom, that offence is an
35“excluded offence” in that part of the United Kingdom.

Article 76 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2))

31(1)Where by virtue of Article 76 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland)
Order 2008 (offences outside the United Kingdom) an act done outside the
United Kingdom constitutes an offence under the law of Northern Ireland,
40that offence is an “excluded offence” in Northern Ireland.

(2)Where by virtue of paragraph (3) of that Article proceedings for an offence
may be brought against a person in Northern Ireland in respect of an act

done outside the United Kingdom, that offence is an “excluded offence” in
Northern Ireland.

Section 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (asp 9)

32(1)Where by virtue of section 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009
5(offences committed outside the United Kingdom) an act done outside the
United Kingdom constitutes an offence under the law of Scotland, that
offence is an “excluded offence” in Scotland.

(2)Where by virtue of subsection (2A) of that section proceedings for an offence
may be brought against a person in Scotland in respect of an act done outside
10the United Kingdom, that offence is an “excluded offence” in relation to
Scotland.

Provisions superseded by provisions mentioned in paragraphs 30 to 32

33Where by virtue of section 7 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (sexual offences
committed outside the United Kingdom) an act done outside the United
15Kingdom constitutes an offence under the law of England and Wales or
Northern Ireland, that offence is an “excluded offence” in that part of the
United Kingdom.

34Where by virtue of section 16B of the Criminal Law (Consolidation)
(Scotland) Act 1995 (commission of certain sexual acts outside the United
20Kingdom) an act done outside the United Kingdom constitutes an offence
under the law of Scotland, that offence is an “excluded offence” in Scotland.

Section 9

Schedule 2 Limitation periods: England and Wales

Part 1 25Court’s discretion to disapply time limits

1(1)Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 (discretionary exclusion of time limit
for actions in respect of personal injuries or death) is amended as follows.

(2)After subsection (1) insert—

“(1ZA)The court shall not under this section disapply any provision of
30section 11 in its application to an overseas armed forces action if the
action was brought after the expiration of the period of six years from
the section 11 relevant date (see subsection (7)).

(1ZB)An “overseas armed forces action” means an action, or cause of
action, which—

(a)35is against the Ministry of Defence, the Secretary of State for
Defence, or any member of Her Majesty’s forces,

(b)is brought in connection with overseas operations (see
subsection (7)), and

(c)relates to damage that occurred outside the British Islands.

(1ZC)40In subsection (1ZB), “damage” means—

(a)in the case of an overseas armed forces action for which a
period of limitation is prescribed by section 11, the personal
injuries to which the action relates;

(b)in the case of an overseas armed forces action for which a
5period of limitation is prescribed by section 12(2), the death
to which the action relates (and where a person sustains
personal injuries outside the British Islands which are a
substantial cause of their later death in any of the British
Islands, or vice versa, the death is for the purposes of
10subsection (1ZB)(c) to be treated as occurring where the
injuries were sustained).”

(3)After subsection (2) insert—

“(2A)But where the reason why the person injured could no longer
maintain an action was because of the time limit in section 11, the
15court may disapply section 12(1) in its application to an overseas
armed forces action only if the person died within the period of six
years beginning with the section 11 relevant date (ignoring, for this
purpose, the reference to section 11(5) in paragraph (a) of the
definition of that term).

(2B)20The court shall not under this section disapply section 12(2) in its
application to an overseas armed forces action if the action was
brought after the expiration of the period of six years from the
section 12 relevant date (see subsection (7)).”

(4)After subsection (5) insert—

“(5A)25In acting under this section in relation to an overseas armed forces
action—

(a)when considering the factor mentioned in subsection (3)(b),
the court must have particular regard to—

(i)the likely impact of the operational context on the
30ability of members of Her Majesty’s forces to
remember relevant events or actions fully or
accurately, and

(ii)the extent of dependence on the memories of
members of Her Majesty’s forces, taking into account
35the effect of the operational context on their ability to
record, or to retain records of, relevant events or
actions; and

(b)the court must also have particular regard to the likely impact
of the action on the mental health of any witness or potential
40witness who is a member of Her Majesty’s forces.

(5B)In subsection (5A) references to “the operational context” are to the
fact that the events to which the action relates took place in the
context of overseas operations, and include references to the
exceptional demands and stresses to which members of Her
45Majesty’s forces are subject.”

(5)After subsection (6) insert—

“(6A)In the application of subsection (1ZA), (2A) or (2B) to an overseas
armed forces action in respect of which a limitation period has been
suspended in accordance with section 1(1) of the Limitation

(Enemies and War Prisoners) Act 1945, any reference to the period of
six years is to be treated as a reference to the period of six years
plus—

(a)the period during which the limitation period was
5suspended, and

(b)any extra period after the suspension ended during which the
action could have been brought only because of an extension
provided for by section 1(1) of that Act.”

(6)For subsection (7) substitute—

“(7)10In this section—

• “the court” means the court in which the action has been
  brought;

• “Her Majesty’s forces” has the same meaning as in the Armed
  Forces Act 2006 (see section 374 of that Act);

• 15“overseas operations” means any operations outside the British
  Islands, including peacekeeping operations and operations
  for dealing with terrorism, civil unrest or serious public
  disorder, in the course of which members of Her Majesty’s
  forces come under attack or face the threat of attack or violent
  20resistance;

• “the section 11 relevant date” means the latest of the
  following—

  (a)

  the date from which the period of three years starts to
  run in accordance with section 11(4) or (5);

  (b)

  25where section 28 applies, the date from which the
  period of three years mentioned in subsection (1) of
  that section (as that subsection has effect with the
  modification made by subsection (6) of that section)
  starts to run;

  (c)

  30where section 32(1)(a) or (b) applies, the date from
  which the period of three years starts to run in
  accordance with subsection (1) of that section;

• “the section 12 relevant date” means the latest of the
  following—

  (a)

  35the date from which the period of three years starts to
  run in accordance with section 12(2);

  (b)

  where section 28 applies, the date from which the
  period of three years mentioned in subsection (1) of
  that section (as that subsection has effect with the
  40modification made by subsection (6) of that section)
  starts to run.”

(7)In subsection (8), after “this section” in the first place it occurs, insert “—

(a)to the British Islands include the territorial sea adjacent to the
United Kingdom and the territorial sea adjacent to any of the
45Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (and the reference to any
of the British Islands is to be read accordingly);

(b)to a member of Her Majesty’s forces, in relation to an
overseas armed forces action, include an individual who was
a member of Her Majesty’s forces at the time of the events to
50which the action relates;

(c)”.

Part 2 Restriction of foreign limitation law

2(1)The Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984 is amended as follows.

(2)In section 1 (application of foreign limitation law), in subsection (1)(a), after
5“subject to” insert “section 1ZA and”.

(3)After section 1 insert—

“1ZA Overseas armed forces actions: restriction of foreign limitation law

(1)Subsection (3) applies where—

(a)the law of another country relating to limitation applies by
10reason of section 1(1)(a) in respect of a matter for the
purposes of an overseas armed forces tort action, and

(b)the commencement condition applies in relation to that
action,

and in this section the law relating to limitation that applies for the
15purposes of that action is referred to as “the relevant foreign
limitation law”.

(2)The commencement condition applies in relation to an overseas
armed forces tort action if the action commenced on a date which is
after the end of the period of six years beginning with—

(a)20the date on which any limitation period specified in the
relevant foreign limitation law began to run, or

(b)where the relevant foreign limitation law has the effect that
the action may be commenced within an indefinite period,
the first date on which the action could have been
25commenced.

(3)The relevant foreign limitation law is to be treated as providing the
defendant with a complete defence to the action so far as relating to
the matter (where that would not otherwise be the case).

(4)An “overseas armed forces tort action” means an action—

(a)30which is an overseas armed forces action as defined in section
33(1ZB) of the Limitation Act 1980, and

(b)which (under the law of the other country that falls to be
taken into account) corresponds to—

(i)an action to which section 11 of that Act applies
35(personal injuries),

(ii)an action in respect of false imprisonment, or

(iii)an action under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (death).

(5)In the application of subsection (2) to an action in respect of which—

(a)in accordance with the relevant foreign limitation law, a
40limitation period specified in that law has been suspended or
interrupted for a period by reason of a person’s lacking legal
capacity or being under a disability, or

(b)in accordance with the relevant foreign limitation law, a
period during which a person lacks legal capacity or is under
45a disability has been disregarded in computing a limitation
period specified in that law,