The Armed Forces Act 1981 amended certain aspects of the Act; most notably, it abolished the death penalty for the crime of espionage for the enemy on ships or in naval establishments.[2] The Human Rights Act 1998 abolished the death penalty for all other capital crimes under the Act.[3]
In 2004, courts martial in the Royal Navy were reformed by an order issued by the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. The committee found that the appointment of serving naval officers as Judge Advocates, and their appointment by the Chief Naval Judge Advocate (also a serving officer), undermined the independence and impartiality of courts martial, thereby contravening human rights legislation. The order instructed that all judge advocates should be appointed solely by the Judge Advocate of the Fleet, a civilian circuit judge.[4]
