The second issue relates to the post of military judge. Given the scale of the military justice system one military judge is deemed sufficient to undertake the case load that arises. However, concerns have been raised that if an officer appointed as a military judge had a previous involvement in a case, is ill or absent or otherwise unable to carry out his or her functions, this may give rise to the need for the availability of an alternative judge. For example, given the small cadre of legal officers there are significant possibilities that the judge might have knowledge of persons who come before him or her. Such a scenario is not currently provided for under the Defence Acts and this Bill seeks to address the issue.