(a) General rule.--At any time after charges have been signed, as provided in section 5601 (relating to charges and specifications), any party may take oral or written depositions unless the military judge or summary court-martial officer hearing the case or, if the case is not being heard, an authority competent to convene a court-martial for the trial of those charges forbids it for good cause.

(b) Notice of taking deposition.--The party at whose instance a deposition is to be taken shall give to every other party reasonable written notice of the time and place for taking the deposition.

(c) Persons authorized to take depositions.--Depositions may be taken before and authenticated by any military or civil officer authorized by the laws of this Commonwealth or by the laws of the place where the deposition is taken to administer oaths.

(d) Admissibility in evidence.--A duly authenticated deposition taken upon reasonable notice to the other parties, so far as otherwise admissible under the rules of evidence, may be read in evidence or, in the case of audiotape, videotape, digital image or file or similar material, may be played in evidence before any military court if it appears:

(1) that the witness resides or is beyond the state in which the court is ordered to sit or beyond 100 miles from the place of trial or hearing;

(2) that the witness, by reason of death, age, sickness, bodily infirmity, imprisonment, military necessity, nonamenability to process or other reasonable cause, is unable or refuses to appear and testify in person at the place of trial or hearing; or

(3) that the present whereabouts of the witness is unknown.