A civilian subject to service discipline is someone who, whilst not a member of the British Armed Forces, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British military law and the military justice system.
The Armed Forces Act 2006 defines who is a civilian subject to service discipline. The main categories are:[1]
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civil servants, employees of support organizations and civilians living with or staying with either of those:[4]
The following countries are designated areas in respect of civilians living with or staying with a service person:[4]
These definitions will therefore include, for example, family members living with a soldier stationed in Germany.
Civilians subject to service discipline may be tried in the Service Civilian Court[5] or by the Court Martial (although the Court Martial will be made up of civilian, not military, members[6]).
The list of civilians who are subject to service discipline is more extensive than in some other countries—for example, in the United States, civilian spouses, dependents, and guests of military personnel are not included in the list of people subject to that country's Uniform Code of Military Justice.[7]