COURT-MARTIAL 



COURT OF SESSION 



527 



a civilian subject to military law, ami on the same 

 footing OH an officer (e.g. a newspaper correspond 

 ent) can only IKS tn>-<! by a general, field -general, 

 or summary court-martial, and a warrant-officer 

 cannot ! tried by a regimental court. Their 

 powers of piuiiKhment vary also, from forty- 

 two (lavs' imprisonment to death. An officer 

 may be sentenced to cashiering, dismissal, for- 

 feiture of rank, or reprimand ; a non-commissioned 

 ollirer to reduction to the ranks, and like a private 

 soldier, to discharge with ignominy, forfeiture of 

 service, medals, &c. , fines and stoppages of pay ; 

 all ranks and civilians, if subject to military law 

 because accompanying a force on active service, 

 may be sentenced to imprisonment, penal servi- 

 tude, or death. 



All sentences must be confirmed before they 

 are carried out those of general, field-general, and 

 district courts by the sovereign, or officer author- 

 ised to confirm by warrant from Her Majesty ; 

 those of regimental and summary courts by the 

 convening officer. The confirming authority may 

 commute, mitigate, or remit the whole or part of 

 a sentence, and may order both finding and sen- 

 tence to be revised (unless the prisoner is ac- 

 quitted ), but cannot, nor can the court on revision, 

 increase the sentence. 



The procedure is similar to that of civil courts 

 the court is public, and the same rules of evidence 

 are in force ; but the members of a court-martial 

 act as both jury and judge i.e. they find the facts 

 and allot the sentence. All are sworn, and each 

 votes, commencing with the junior, both on the find- 

 ing and sentence, as well as on any question that 

 may arise, the majority deciding. The witnesses 

 are also sworn. An officer is appointed as judge- 

 advocate in important trials, to assist the court on 

 points of law, see that the proceedings are regular, 

 and, with the president, take care that the pnsoner 

 is treated with strict fairness. Counsel may appear 

 on both sides at general courts, and, if barristers 

 or officers subject to military law, may address 

 the court, and examine and cross-examine wit- 

 nesses ; or before any court the prisoner may be 

 assisted in his defence by a ' friend,' who may 

 make suggestions to him, but is not allowed to 

 address the court or the witnesses. The prosecutor 

 must be an officer and not a member of the court ; 

 he is sworn, and charged with the duty of eliciting 

 the truth, but not necessarily of obtaining a con- 

 viction. The proceedings are all written, except 

 those of summary courts, which have a necessarily 

 abbreviated form of procedure, like the drum-head 

 court-martial for which they have been substituted. 



Contempt of a court-martial by persons subject to 

 military law is punishable by tne same or another 

 court-martial, and, in the case of civilians, by 

 a civil court, to which the offence is certified by 

 the president. Witnesses are summoned by the 

 convening officer or the president, and, if civilians, 

 their travelling expenses must be tendered. Some- 

 times courts of inquiry are held instead of a court- 

 martial, not to try or to punish, but to make an 

 investigation ; the members not being on oath. 

 Such a court occasionally precedes a court-martial. 



On board a man-of-war no military court-martial 

 may sit except a regimental court, with the sanc- 

 tion of the captain of the ship, for the trial of a 

 non-commissioned officer, and it may only sentence 

 him to reduction to the ranks. Marines are liable 

 to trial by military court-martial when not borne 

 on the books of a man-of-war, in which case they 

 come under the Naval Discipline Act. Naval 

 courts-martial consist of admirals, captains, and 

 commanders, who try offences against the Naval 

 Discipline Act. The chief admiral of the fleet or 

 squadron appoints the members ; but all captains 

 on the station have a right to sit, if nut implicated. 



The court-martial M open to all the crew and 

 others as spectators. The sentence i* final, and 

 needs no continuation. 



Courtney, LEONARD HENRY, wa* born at 

 Penzance, in Cornwall, the son of a banker there, 

 July 6, 1832. Educated at Penzance and St 

 John's College, Cambridge, he graduated second 

 wrangler and first Smith's prizeman in 1856, and 

 became fellow of his college the year after. In 

 ls.vs he was called to the oar, and from 1872 to 

 1870 he filled the chair of political economy at 

 University College, London. He early began to 

 write for the Times, and his pamphleta and 

 articles to monthly magazines placed iiim among 

 the ablest and most advanced doctrinaire Liberals 

 in England. He early became an eager advocate 

 for proportional representation and a wide exten- 

 sion of local government. He was returned for 

 Liskeard in 1876 and 1885; in 1886, 1892, and 1895 

 for South-east Cornwall. He was Under-secretary 

 of State first in the Home and next in the Colonial 

 Office, and in May 1882 succeeded the ill-fated 

 Lord Frederick Cavendish as Financial Secretary 

 to the Treasury. He was appointed chairman of 

 committees in both the parliaments of 1885 and 

 1886-92. 



Court of Session, the supreme court of 

 civil jurisdiction in Scotland, was constituted in 

 1532. The credit of its origin is generally ascribed 

 to the Duke of Albany, who when regent had 

 submitted a scheme for the establishment of such 

 a court to Pope Clement VII. ; and the details of 

 the scheme were carried out by Archbishop Dun- 

 bar of Glasgow, who was then Lord Chancellor. 

 Its constitution was principally modelled on that 

 of the parliament of Paris, of which body the Duke 

 of Albany was at that time a member. French 

 influence was clearly seen in many features of the 

 Court of Session, and to this day may be recognised 

 in the names of its officers president, king's advo- 

 cate, advocates, dean of faculty, procurators, &c. 

 The judges of the Court of Session originally con- 

 sisted of the Lord Chancellor, Lord President, and 

 fourteen ordinary judges or ' senators of the College 

 of Justice,' together with an indefinite number of 

 extraordinary lords, who represented the peerage. 

 At first, half the numl>er of tne judges were laymen 

 appointed by the king, and half ecclesiastics ap- 

 pointed by the church. In 1584 all clergymen were 

 declared disqualified from holding judicial office, 

 but so late as 1664 the Archbishop of Glasgow was 

 made an extraordinary lord. The extraordinary 

 lords themselves were abolished in 1723, and the 

 Court of Session then consisted of the Lord Presi- 

 dent and fourteen ordinary judges, the office of 

 Lord Chancellor having l>een abolished at the 

 Union. The Court of Session first sat in the 

 Tolbooth or prison of Edinburgh, but in 1639 

 was accommodated in the buildings of the Parlia- 

 ment House, which was then erected. It sat as 

 one chamber, one of the ordinary lords going by 

 rotation weekly to sit in what was called the Outer 

 House. Here all cases, with certain exceptions, 

 were in the first place heard and decided l>y the 

 Lord Ordinary, but an appeal lay from his judgment 

 to the whole "court. Fresh changes were made in 

 1808 and 1810 ; and in 1830 the total number of 

 judges was reduced to thirteen, the two divisions 

 each consisting of four, including the Lord Presi- 

 dent and Lord Justice-clerk, whilst the number 

 of the Outer House judges remained as before : 

 this is the present constitution of the court. In 

 1830, moreover, the office of president was united 

 with that of Lord Justice-general or president 

 of the High Court of Justiciary (q.v.), the 

 supreme criminal court in Scotland. Prior to 

 lt>87 five of the judges were appointed Lords Com- 



