Dawn has published this exceptional piece of long-form reporting, May 9: Mayhem and Military Trials--A Year On. The feature article includes, among other things, a useful summary of the country's repeated misuse of military courts to try civilians. Numerous aspects of the military justice system fall far short of contemporary standards, including but not limited to the unavailability of an independent and impartial appellate court with full power to conduct plenary direct review ..read more

In a new article, New Zealand’s Military and the Disciplining of Sex between Men, 1940–1960 published in the University of Texas Press periodical, Journal of the History of Sexuality, Professor Chris Brickell from the University of Otago provides some interesting, if troubling, reflections on the approach which was taken by both the New Zealand military and civilian authorities to homosexual conduct by members of the Armed Forces during World War II and the immediate post-war period. Professor Brickell correctly points to the ambivalence of many senior leaders and the inconsistent responses ..read more

Bui Van Duy, of the People's Poilice Academy, Hanoi, has published Some Problems in Applying the Vietnam Criminal Procedure Code 2015. Several of the issues examined conern the jurisdiction of the military court ..read more

Russia continues to flaunt international humanitarian law (the law of war) by prosecuting Ukrainian prisoners of war for privileged acts of warfare. The lengthy list of such Russian trials of Ukrainian fighters is defective in two ways: first, the law of war provides broad immunity for lawful acts of warfare and second, prosecutions of unlawful acts committed by enemy fighters must meet fair trial guarantees.  While media accounts of the details of claimed offenses tried in Russian courts are scarce, it's worth knowing that the law of war provides broad swaths of immunity from criminal ac ..read more

In mid-April 2024, the Office of the Judge Advocate General (OJAG) of the Canadian Forces (CF) published a new version of the manual for the Military Justice at the Unit Level (MJUL): Military Justice at the Unit Level Policy 2.0. This is a significant development in light of the shortcomings of the first volume. There are shortcomings with the MJUL generally, and some of these shortcomings are inherent in the legislative structure of the MJUL and the principles upon which it is based.  But those problems cannot be corrected by a revised policy manual. What the policy manual can do ..read more

On Friday 3 May 2024, Murray Brewster of the CBC published an online report commenting on the recent Annual Report from the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC).  The Chair of the MPCC, Tammy Tremblay, a retired Lieutenant-Colonel and Legal Officer from the Office of the JAG, was appointed Chair of the MPCC in January 2023.  This is her first annual report, and a summary and links to the online PDF version of the report may be found here: MPCC Annual Report for 2023. Murray Brewster's reporting, entitled "Watchdog agency accuses chief of military police of blocking investig ..read more

Qamar Bashir Consider the following, from this op-ed by a writer who previously served as press secretary to the President of Pakistan: Interestingly, the abuse and condemnation of the army on social media platforms are not unique to Pakistan. For example, in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, India, and others, the military has been subjected to criticism and abuse on social media on account of political differences, human rights concerns, and accountability issues. These countries have also implemented various remedial actions. . . . [T]he Uniform Code of Military Jus ..read more

Prof. Jonathan Hafetz's latest Law on Film Apple podcast offers a conversation with the Editor about the recent remake of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. You can find it here. The show notes explain: "The Caine Mutiny (1954) is based on Herman Wouk’s bestselling Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. The film, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer, portrays the fictitious events on board the U.S.S. Caine, a Navy destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific during World War II. Executive officer, Lt. Stephen Maryk (Van Johnson), relieves the seemingly unstable Lt ..read more

**Borneo Post (online) reports that: The case involving a senior army officer who allegedly abused an army personnel last month has been referred to the Attorney General’s (AG) Office, said Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata. . . . In the post, the victim claimed that he was slapped on the left side of his face and kicked in the abdominal area by the senior officer, who is based in Sarawak. The army statement said the incident may have happened during a training exercise. For comparison, here is a link to a Marine Corps case just decided by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Crimin ..read more

Commander Maurice William Bailward was charged with negligently stranding Submarine L25 in the Needles Channel at a Naval Court Martial in Portsmouth on 29th April 1924 – 100 years ago today. Island Echo, 29 April 2024 ..read more