Military Law

Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states use special judicial and other arrangements to enforce those laws, while others use civilian judicial systems. Legal issues unique to military justice include the preservation of good order and discipline, the legality of orders, and appropriate conduct for members of the military.

Overview:

Military justice is distinct from martial law, which is the imposition of military authority on a civilian population as a substitute for civil authority, and is often declared in times of emergency, war, or civil unrest. Most countries restrict when and in what manner martial law may be declared and enforced.

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Every state requires a code of laws and regulations for the raising, maintenance, and administration of its armed forces, all of which may be considered the field of military law. The term, however, is generally confined to disciplinary military law as defined above—i.e., that part of the code that aims at and sanctions the maintenance of discipline in the armed forces. In the past this was also known by the name of martial law, a term that now has the meaning of military enforcement of order upon a civil population either in occupied territory or in time of disorder.

Military personnel

In countries in which an obligation to military service exists, soldiers who fail to answer their initial call-up or report for duty are liable to military jurisdiction for such offenses as desertion or self-mutilation either because the military code makes such offenses applicable to them as a class of civilians (as in Belgium, France, Italy, and Israel) or because under the act introducing national service they are deemed to be enlisted on the dispatch of a calling-up notice (as was the case in Great Britain when conscription was in force). They continue to be liable for such offenses, even if not otherwise subject to military law, during authorized absence from the conscripted service or temporary reserve service. Reservists are also subject (as in Italy) to military jurisdiction for such offenses as treason, communicating with foreign countries, and revelation of official secrets. In Belgium, released soldiers remain liable for rebellion or offenses against superiors committed within one year of their release.

Civilians

Civilians may become subject to military jurisdiction in any number of ways. In Italy and Turkey, for example, treason or rebellion can be dealt with under the military code, and in Norway breaches by a civilian of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional Protocols of 1977 are dealt with under military law. In other countries, civilians who instigate or participate in military crimes may themselves be triable under military law. In a number of countries, civilians within a war zone or theatre of active operations, or in conditions defined as a “state of siege,” can come under military jurisdiction for offenses similar to those mentioned above—or even completely under military jurisdiction, as in Argentina.