Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021

Overview of the Act

Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.

The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act includes the following provisions: Measures that will apply when decisions are made by prosecutors in relation to the prosecution of current or former Service personnel for historical offences allegedly committed overseas. Firstly, a presumption against prosecution. This provision raises the threshold to be applied by prosecutors when considering whether a service person or veteran should be prosecuted in such cases, by stipulating that it is to be exceptional for a prosecutor to determine that a prosecution should be brought. Secondly, the prosecutor must give particular weight to the adverse impact of the particular conditions the person was exposed to and the exceptional demands and stresses of overseas operations on a Service person (including on their ability to make sound judgements and on their mental health) and, in cases where there have been previous investigations and no compelling new evidence has emerged, the public interest in finality. Thirdly, if a prosecutor determines that, notwithstanding the presumption, it is appropriate for a prosecution to be brought, the consent of the Attorney General for England and Wales or the Advocate General for Northern Ireland will then be required for the prosecution to proceed.