The Act - Commentary on Sections Part 1 – Continuance of Services Acts
11.The need for the periodic renewal of the SDAs originates in the Bill of Rights of 1688, which declared the raising or keeping of a standing army within the United Kingdom in time of peace, unless with the consent of Parliament, to be against the law. Since then, the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime has depended on the consent of Parliament, with this consent being renewed from time to time. At one time, the consent derived from annual Acts of Parliament, but the present practice is for the Army Act 1955 to be continued in force annually by Orders in Council for up to five years in total.
12.The legal basis for the existence of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force is different from that of the Army. The Naval Discipline Act 1957 and the Air Force Act 1955 are continued in force and periodically re-enacted in the same way as the Army Act.