(1) After signature and approval where necessary, the warrant shall be dated and formally read forthwith to the offender by the Commanding Officer or any other officer so authorized by him.
(2) The date of the warrant and the date reading the warrant shall always be the same and where an unusual interval elapse between the commission of the offence and the reading of the warrant the cause for the same shall be stated on the warrant.
(3) The formal reading shall be carried out on the quarterdeck or any other suitable place and shall be preceded by the Articles of War under which the offence falls and unless the Commanding Officer should think it necessary for the sake of example, it shall not be necessary to read the previous offences, entered in the warrant.
(4) Where an offender whose case has been fully investigated has been sent to a hospital the warrant shall be formally read to him in the hospital unless the Medical Officer certifies that the offender is medically unfit to have the warrant read to him in which case the formal reading may be carried out on the quarter deck or any other suitable place in his absence and such formal reading of the warrant shall have the same effect as if it had been read to the offender.
(5) The fact of a warrant having formally been read in the absence of the offender shall be stated on the warrant and shall be intimated to him as soon as he is in a fit state to receive such intimation.