Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has handed down an important Freedom of Information Act decision that will be of particular interest to military practitioners. Her opinion in War Horse News, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of the Navy can be found here. At issue is a request for information contained in a Marine Corps database for reporting and tracking officer misconduct and substandard performance cases. Judge Chutkan was not buying what the government was selling ..read more

If you are really interested in military justice, this is the job for you: Associate Deputy General Counsel for Personnel and Health Policy The incumbent is the primary military justice policy advisor for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Main duties include serving as the DoD Office of General Counsel advisor to the Joint Service Committee on Military Justice, liaising with the Executive Office of the President concerning executive orders to amend the Manual for Courts-Martial, preparing and revising DoD issuances dealing with military justice topics, preparing and reviewing legislativ ..read more

United States Military Justice in the Civil War: Court-Martial Practices and Administration by R. Gregory Lande. Amazon Abstract: Despite its relative invisibility to the public, the administration of military justice during the Civil War played a vital role in maintaining the discipline necessary for Union military success. While some scholars have criticized the Union military courts as arbitrary and excessively harsh, others have defended it as a necessary means of maintaining order in the face of unprecedented challenges faced by the Union. Drawing on extensive primary research, this ..read more

The Dhaka Daily Sun reports: Former [Bangladesh] army officers have called for the establishment of a commission to reform military law and prevent political interference in the armed forces. They argue that the military should be depoliticised, those dismissed for political reasons under the previous Awami League government should be reinstated, and financial support should be provided to those who have completed their service. The news report continues:  The keynote address highlighted that the impartiality and professionalism of the armed forces have been repeatedly compromised to s ..read more

The U.S. Air Force's Defense Counsel Assistance Program (DCAP) has a lively biweekly podcast called Litigator Libations. Run by Darrel "the DCAP" Johnson, it's also available here. Seventy episodes have been uploaded since 2021. "The Air Force DCAP providing updates and tips on defensive litigation in military justice including discussing recent appellate decisions and advocacy tips." Check it out ..read more

During the Term that ernded on September 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces handed down full opinions in 30 cases. One argued case from the Term is hanging fire. The court ruled on numerous petitions for grant of review as well as original petitions for extraordinary relief, writ-appeal petitions, petitions for a new trial, and procedural motions (many of which sought extensions of time). We know of no original or reciprocal attorney disciplinary matters during ther Term just ended.  On September 30, the court issued revised Rules of Practice and Procedure that went into ..read more

Justice Logan, Commonwealth Military Justice Systems - An Australian Perspective. Federal Court of Australia, 10 September 2024 (A Paper delivered at the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association Conference, Kigali, Rwanda). The Transformation Project is proceeding according to an agenda charted out by Commonwealth Law Ministers in November 2022. Since then, as a sequel to a meeting of experts at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study in November 2023, an initial draft of the Commonwealth Military Justice Principles (the Stellenbosch Draft) has been produced.   See ..read more

  Article 21 of the Mexican Constitution provides in relevant part that: Public safety institutions, including the National Guard, will be of civilian character, disciplined and professional ("Las instituciones de seguridad pública, incluyendo la Guardia Nacional, serán de carácter civil, disciplinado y profesional."). In Mexico, the Federal Police was abolished in 2019, because it was considered very corrupt. In its place the National Guard was created, under civilian supervision, although it was decreed that the National Guard would participate in military tasks for 5 years.  The ..read more

This just in from the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War: It is with great pleasure that we announce our international Conference hosted at ERTH Hotel in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) from 10 to 13 December 2024 (arrivals on 9 December 2024). The central theme of this Conference is: Standards of Conduct and Accountability in Military Activities, the Role of Military Law and International Humanitarian Law, and the Importance of Preventing Armed Conflicts We gratefully acknowledge the support and great hospitality of the Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates ..read more

The Heavy Toll of Desertion from the Russian Army introduces The Deserter, a powerful long-form piece by Sarah A. Topol in The New York Times Magazine. Excerpt from The Heavy Toll: It’s impossible to know the real statistics of desertion. Mediazona, an independent Russian investigative outlet in exile, says there have been almost 7,400 AWOL cases in military courts since the start of the mobilization, but experts agree that’s only a small fraction of the number who have tried to escape. This is while the Russian authorities have made it more and more difficult to avoid service. Las ..read more