Legal background Posthumous pardons
Section 164 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 ("PCA 2017") provides for posthumous pardons for those convicted of certain abolished sexual offences, for example, buggery. Specifically, anyone who was convicted of, or cautioned for, such an abolished offence and has now died, is pardoned for that offence if two conditions are met. The conditions are that: (a) the other person involved in the conduct that constituted the offence consented to it and was aged 16 or over; and (b) the offence would not still be an offence under section 71 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity in a public lavatory) (see section 164(2) of the PCA 2017).
	Pardons apply to those convicted under the civilian criminal justice system under legislation dating back to 1533 (see section 164(3) of the PCA 2017). The equivalent service offences are listed in section 164(4) and (5) ensuring that those convicted under service law would be pardoned, just as if they had been convicted in the civilian system. Prior to the AFA 2021, PCA 2017 captured all equivalent service offences in relation the Royal Navy from 1661 and all equivalent service offences for the Royal Air Force. It did not capture some older equivalent service offences for the Army or the Royal Marines, hence the amendments to section 164 included in the Act.