In Finland, the military has jurisdiction over two types of crimes: those that can be committed only by military personnel and those normal crimes by military persons where both the defendant and the victim are military persons or organizations and the crime has been defined in law as falling under military jurisdiction. Harold Pringle was the last Canadian soldier executed pursuant to a court martial, in 1945, having been convicted of murder. Capital punishment in Canada was abolished generally in 1976, and for military offences in 1998. Appeals are heard by the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada. Summary trials are presided over by superior officers, while more significant matters are heard by courts martial, which are presided over by independent military judges serving under the independent Office of the Chief Military Judge. In Canada, there is a two-tier military trial system. These offences, as well as their corresponding punishments and instructions on how to conduct a court-martial, are explained in detail based on each country and/or service. ![]() For members of the United States Armed Forces offenses are covered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Regulations for the Canadian Forces are found in the Queen's Regulations and Orders as well as the National Defence Act. Military offences are defined in the Armed Forces Act 2006 for members of the British Military. Others, like cowardice, desertion, and insubordination, are purely military crimes. The precise format varies from one country to another and may also depend on the severity of the accusation.Ĭourts-martial have the authority to try a wide range of military offences, many of which closely resemble civilian crimes like fraud, theft or perjury. ![]() Usually, a court-martial takes the form of a trial with a presiding judge, a prosecutor and a defense attorney (all trained lawyers as well as officers). However, in British usage, a hyphen is used to distinguish between the noun, "court martial", and the verb, "to court-martial". Ĭourt-martial is hyphenated in US usage, whether used as a noun or verb. ![]() Some countries like France have no courts-martial in times of peace and use civilian courts instead. Most military forces maintain a judicial system that tries defendants for breaches of military discipline. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official record. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. ![]() In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. A court-martial or court martial (plural courts-martial or courts martial, as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court.
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