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SPECIAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL LAW,
1982 (PNDCL 19)
As amended
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Certain Acts Committed by
Members of the Armed Forces, etc.
to be Offences.
1A. Acts Done Outside Ghana.
2. Penalty.
3. Trial of Offences by Special
Military Tribunal.
3A. Trial in Absentia.
4. Meetings and Procedure.
5. Application of Act 105.
IN pursuance of the Provisional
National Defence Council
(Establishment) Proclamation,
1981, this Law is hereby made:
Section 1—Certain Acts Committed
by Members of the Armed Forces,
Etc. to be Offences.
(1) Without prejudice to any
enactment any person being a
member of the Armed Forces of
Ghana—
(a) who incites or assists or
procures any person to invade
Ghana with armed force or
unlawfully to subject any part of
Ghana to attack by land, sea or
air or assists in the preparation
of any such invasion or attack;
(b) who prepares or endeavours in
any manner to overthrow the
Government or to usurp any powers
of the Government; or
(c) who knows of the commission of
any act under paragraph (a) or (b)
of this subsection but does not
forthwith report it to a member of
the Provisional National Defence
Council or to any serving police
officer not below the rank of
Sergeant or to a serving member of
the Armed Forces of Ghana not
below the rank of Sergeant in the
Ghana Army or its equivalent in
the Ghana Navy or Air Force,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) For the purposes of subsection
(1) of this section a person who
has retired from or deserted the
Armed Forces of Ghana shall be
deemed to be a member of the Armed
Forces of Ghana.[As substituted by
Special Military Tribunal
(Amendment) Law, 1984 (PNDCL 77)
s.1(a)]
(3) Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, a person shall be guilty
of an offence who—
(a) being a member of the Armed
Forces of Ghana—
(i)
assaults or molests any person;
(ii) unlawfully arrests any
person;
(iii) obstructs any public officer
in the performance of his duties;
or
(iv) smuggles anything into or
outside Ghana in contravention of
any enactment for the time being
in force;
(b) directly or indirectly
instigates, commands, counsels,
procures, solicits or in any
manner aids, facilitates,
encourages or promotes, whether by
his act or presence or otherwise,
the assault, molestation or
unlawful arrest of another person
by a member of the Armed Forces of
Ghana;
(c) does any act for the purpose
of aiding, facilitating,
encouraging or promoting the
assault, molestation or unlawful
arrest of another person by a
member of the Armed Forces of
Ghana;
(d) uses a member of the Armed
Forces of Ghana for any
unauthorised purpose or act;
(e) being a member of the Armed
Forces of Ghana uses his position
for any unauthorised purpose or
act;
(f) not being a member of the
Armed Forces of Ghana parades,
whether in military uniform or
not, as a member of the Armed
Forces of Ghana; or
(g) smuggles anything into or
outside Ghana in contravention of
any enactment for the time being
in force.[As substituted by
Special Military Tribunal
(Amendment) (No.2) Law, 1984 (PNDCL
100) s.1]
(4) For the purposes of
paragraphs (a) (ii) and (b) of
subsection (3) of this section a
person shall be deemed to arrest
another unlawfully if he does so
without lawful authority or any
reasonable excuse.;[As inserted by
The Special Military (Amendment)
Law, 1984 (PNDCL 77)]
Section 1A—Acts Done Outside
Ghana.
A
person who is not a citizen of
Ghana shall not be guilty of an
offence under this Law in respect
of anything done outside Ghana,
but a citizen of Ghana may be
tried and punished for an offence
under this Law in respect of any
act referred to in subsection (1)
of section 1 of this Law whether
done in Ghana or outside
Ghana.;[As inserted by The Special
Military Tribunal (Amendment) Law,
1984 (PNDCL 77)]
Section 2—Penalty.
(1) Any person who commits an
offence under subsection (1) of
section 1 of this Law shall on
conviction be liable to suffer
death by shooting by firing squad.
(2) Any person who commits an
offence under subsection (3) of
section 1 of this Law shall on
conviction be liable—
(a) in the case of a member of the
Armed Forces of Ghana to any or a
combination of the following
punishments:
(i)
dismissal with disgrace from the
Armed Forces of Ghana;
(ii) detention;
(iii) reduction in rank;
(iv) forfeiture of seniority;
(v) a fine not exceeding
¢2,000.00;
(vi) a term of imprisonment not
exceeding two years; and
(b) in the case of any other
person to a fine not exceeding
¢2,000.00 or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding two
years or to both.[As substituted
by The Special Military Tribunal
(Amendment) Law, 1984 (PNDCL 77)]
(3) A Special Military Tribunal
may impose as appropriate in
respect of any offence referred to
it under subsection (1) of section
3 of this Law the penalty
prescribed in subsection (1) or
(2) of this section having regard
to the nature of such offence.
(4) Conviction for an offence
under this Law shall have the same
effect as conviction under the
Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29).[As
substituted by Special Military
Tribunal (Amendment) (No. 2) Law,
1984 (PNDCL 100) s.1(b)]
Section 3—Trial of Offences by
Special Military Tribunal.
(1) Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary and except as
otherwise provided in subsection
(2) of this section a Special
Military Tribunal shall try the
offences specified in section 1 of
this Law or any offence under any
enactment which may be referred to
it by the Council.
(2) The offences specified in
subsection (3) (a) (iv) and (g) of
subsection 1 of this Law shall be
tried by a Special Military
Tribunal comprising a panel of
three members.
(3) The Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of Ghana or such
other authority as may be
authorised by him may convene a
Special Military Tribunal under
this section, comprising seven,
five or three members.
(4) A Special Military Tribunal
convened under this section shall—
(a) in the case of a panel of
seven members, consist of not more
than four officers or more than
five other ranks;
(b) in the case of a panel of five
members, consist of not more than
three officers or not more than
three other ranks;
(c) in the case of a panel of
three members, consist of the Unit
Commander, one officer and one
other rank.
(5) A Special Military Tribunal
shall from its members appoint its
own Chairman.[As substituted by
Special Military Tribunal
(Amendment) (No. 2) Law 1984 (PNDCL
100) s.1(c)]
Section 3A—Trial in Absentia.
Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, the trial of any person
charged with an offence under this
Law shall be conducted in his
presence or where he is outside
Ghana or it is otherwise
impossible for him to be made to
be present the trial may be
conducted in his absence.;[As
inserted by The Special Military
Tribunal (Amendment) Law, 1984 (PNDCL
77) s. 1(c)]
Section 4—Meetings and Procedure.
(1) A Special Military Tribunal
shall meet at such place and time
as it may determine.
(2) A Special Military Tribunal
shall, in the exercise of its
jurisdiction under section 3 of
this Law have all the powers of a
High Court of Justice.
(3) A Special Military Tribunal
shall, in the exercise of its
functions under this Law not be
bound by the decisions of any
court or tribunal but shall be
guided by the rules of natural
justice.
(4) A Special Military Tribunal
shall in trials before it adopt
the procedure for summary trials.
(5) Any decision shall be deemed
to be a decision of a Special
Military Tribunal if it is
supported by all its members or a
majority thereof.
(6) A decision of a Special
Military Tribunal under this Law
shall be final and no appeal shall
lie from such a decision.
(7) The trial of a person accused
of the commission of an offence
under subsection (1) of section 1
of this Law may be held in
camera,[As inserted by The Special
Military Tribunal (Amendment) Law,
1984 (PNDCL 77)]
Section 5—Application of Act 105.
(1) The Armed Forces Act, 1962
(Act 105) shall, with such
modifications as may be necessary
to give effect to the provisions
of this Law and such other
modifications as the Provisional
National Defence Council may
direct, apply in respect of the
arrest, trial and punishment of
any person (whether civilian or
not) for an offence under this Law
as if that offence were a service
offence and as if a Special
Military Tribunal appointed under
this Law were a service tribunal,
and also as if any person alleged
to have committed an offence under
this Law were a person subject to
the Code of Service Discipline.
(2) Subject to the provisions of
this Law, this Law shall be
construed as one with the Armed
Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105).
Made this 21st day of July, 1982.
FLT. -LT. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS
Chairman of the Provisional
National Defence Council
amended by
SPECIAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL
(AMENDMENT) LAW, 1984 (PNDCL 77)1
SPECIAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL
(AMENDMENT) (NO.2) LAW, 1984
(PNDCL
100)2
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