Detailed provisions for establish ment of the courts would be made by defence regulations to be laid before Parliament, and the members would then have the opportunity of examining the scheme in detail. Sir John again emphasized there was no, Intention of setting up these special courts until @ critical situation arose calling for that, special means of dealing swifty' with offences by ivi Replying to. questions, the Home Secretary declared the decision when ther the military situation was such 35 to require institution of the special courts, would be taken by a civil. fan authority, presumably by the Home Secretary, In the course of the debate, in which Me. Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith, Labour member for the Kelghley division of Yorkshire, W.R., and Mr. Prank Kingsley Griffith, Opposition Liberal-member for West Middlesbrough, contended that the Bill was too vague to be accepted in lis present form, Mr. Here-Belisha said the Home Secretary had introduced the HI! as a measure to pro. {eet civilians from the harsh military that in practice they will only deal procedure, The Bill did exactly. the with more serious offences which are reverse, if the measure were allow= of importance from a military point Jed to pass through the House in its for view in any area declared to be a war zone.
"It is proposed to provide for elimination of the procedure of com= ital for trial in order to enable lers to be brought Immediately "These wil The or-mary rules of evidence will apply 'There would be no jury and no appeal from the decision of court, "hich would be empowered to impose Jany sentence authorized by law, in= cluding the death' penalty for any offence for which the law authorized capital punishment, the Home Secretary explained. "He further mentioned that if extensive looting should take place or if there should be apprehension of extensive looting in a war zone area, it would obviously be nec assary {0 inflict the most drastic penalties, It was proposed—not uncer the Bill—to provide by a defence re-that in such a situation of ite emergency the courts should be empowered to impose the death penalty for looting. It was also proposed to provide by a defence regula jon for a drastic penalty, including the death penalty if necessary, for an offence known in military language '98 forcing a safeguard, namely forei one's way basta military post overpowering a sentry. present form, they would be handing over to the Executive the most extreme powers, without any of the safeguards mentioned.
After further criticism from Labour member, Sir John Anderson said he was willing (0 give the dertaking that words would be in= reduced into the Bil, making quite clear that the Kind of court 10 be set up under it must be " civilian
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.