702. Duties and Powers.- The duties of a court of inquiry depend on the instructions which the authority ordering the court may think proper to give. The instructions should always be in writing.

703. Use of Court of Inquiry.- A court of inquiry may be used by any officer in command of a fleet or squadron, station, or division of a station, to enable him to arrive at a correct conclusion on any matter upon which he requires to be thoroughly informed, or upon which there may be a question whether it should form the subject of a court-martial.

2. A court of inquiry has no power to award any punishment ; it can only recommend. It may, however, be invested with any power, not exceeding that of the convening officer, which may be necessary for the proper conducting of the inquiry, such as calling before it naval witnesses and requiring the production of official papers. It may be re-assembled as often, and with such alterations in its composition as may be directed.

3. It is not a judicial body; it has no power to compel the; attendance of civilians as witnesses, nor to examine on oath.

4. It may be required to examine witnesses and record their evidence, without being required to give any opinion; no one before it charged with any offence is bound to make any statement or answer any questions.

5. Members of a court of inquiry are not disqualified to sit on a court-martial upon the same subject-matter, because they have so acted, but they may be objected to, and the objection allowed by the court, and this contingency is to be considered in selecting the members. So far as may be practicable and consistent with a due regard to this contingency, the president and members should be senior to the person whose conduct is under inquiry.

6. A court of inquiry, unless otherwise ordered, shall sit with closed doors.

7. The person concerned in the result of the inquiry should be present during the whole time that witnesses are being examined, but should he object or refuse to be present, the proceedings are to be carried on in his absence, except in the case provided for in Article 778, clause 3 (f ).

8. With the exception provided for in Article 776, clause 3 (f), no person is to be present in the character of a prosecutor, nor is any friend or professional adviser to be allowed to assist any person concerned in the inquiry.

9. Every person about to make a statement or answer a question likely to incriminate himself should be cautioned by the court that what he is about to state may be made use of against him. All such cautions should be recorded in the minutes.

10. If the inquiry should have reference to the loss or hazarding of a ship, the course directed by Article 690, with the exception of taking evidence on oath, is to be pursued.

11. The minutes of the proceedings are to be signed by all the members, and forwarded by the president to the authority ordering the inquiry. In case of difference of opinion on any material point among the members, the grounds of difference are to be fully stated.

704. Disposal of Proceedings.- The proceeding's are in all cases to be sent to the Commander-in-Chief, who, in the absence of special directions, will exercise his discretion as to forwarding them to the Admiralty.

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705. Caution as to use of Proceedings at Court-Martial.- The proceedings of a court of inquiry should not be produced before a court-martial, though they may be used by the judge-advocate when necessary. .

NAVAL COURTS.

706. Instructions to Officers.- Officers are to be guided in regard to naval courts by the instructions relating thereto issued by the Board of Trade, and approved by the Foreign Office and the Admiralty.

2. Expenses.- When there is no British consul at hand the senior naval officer present will order the expenses of such courts to be paid by the Accountant Officer of a ship-of-war on a certificate signed by the president of the court to the effect that the persons named thereon have performed the duties devolving upon them respectively and are entitled to be paid in accordance with the Regulations. The order and certificate with the receipts attached are to be transmitted as vouchers to the cash account of the Accountant Officer,

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