مركز ماعت للدراسات الحقوقية والدستورية

The Draft Bill of Military Judgments is a Judiciary

Militarization.

30/04/2007

The firs trial session of the businessman Khairat Al Shater ,the second deputy of Muslim Brothers' general guide , before Military Judiciary ,and the specification of the dates to judge the other 32 member of the group leaders before the same judiciary after this session , raised repeating the argument about the issue of to what extend the Military Judiciary is a legal one ,specially as this matter comes at the time when the government adopts a new draft of the Military Reports Law.

The government's persistence to pass the draft of this law comes in the framework to pass the triple legislation system consists of the constitutional amendments approved on 26\03\2007, the new draft of the Military Reports Law offered by the government, and lastly stop applying the Martial Law according to the official releases of the government in exchange for issuing a new law to challenge terrorism.

In this framework, the constitutional amendments ratified lately were formed. These amendments' content and sense settle the role of the police state more than it was an effort to support principles of the state of institutions as the formation of article No 179 confirms. This article concerned with challenging terrorism on the account of the rights guaranteed by international charters, the most important of which is the individual right to be judged before his normal judge. It gives the president the authority to turn any one of the accused in terrorism crimes to any judiciary body stated in the constitution. Taking into account, what the government said about stopping working the Martial Law, so the offer of the draft of Military Law in this time and the governments' persistence to pass it through the parliament is a justified matter?

The new draft gives military courts a legal position, which raises wide argument since the issuing of the current law on 1966, which is the idea of the judiciary parallel to the normal and administrative one. This matter was ended by the formation of the new draft in its first article, which contains confirming that military judge is an independent one. This inevitably means adding new authorities to the military judge together with the authorities already authorized to him according to the current law. This means more lessening of the normal judge's role, and judiciary institution, which is the place to keep rights and freedoms, will be marginal. In addition, the exceptional judiciary's role will be limited and its reports will enhanced, especially with keeping the new draft in the form of article No. 6 without any change or amendment.

This is the article, which gives the republic president the authority to judge civilians and youth before military judiciary, and opens the door to handle normal crimes as political ones especially as the military judiciary affiliated to Ministry of Defense. These inevitably will lessen the criminal legislation system of crime and punishment, and form a clear abuse of rights and freedoms respected by international charters.

As a result, legal jurisprudence classed Military Reports Law as one of the bad reputation laws. The government's effort to improve military law through establishing a Supreme Court to appeal its reports will not criticize this classification, because the Military Reports Law is really in need to be restructured in the frame of legality principles ,and in a manner respect judiciary institution and the individual right to be judged before his normal judge. This will not be until the military law is limited to military crimes, in its narrow meaning, which military men commit.

The government's policy concerning the expected role of the military judge as a replacement of the martial judge is regarded as a dedication of martial concept but according to limited trends. The danger of this matter will not just affect the judgment institution but it will reach the military institution, which still have public respect. If the constitutional amendments have dedicated the principles of political state, so the new law of military reports will militarize judiciary.

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