Definition of Military Justice

The civil and military context present different characteristics and one of them refers to the legal system. Military justice presents institutions and procedures and, on the other hand, those who are in charge of imparting order in military life are officials who belong to the armed forces of a nation.

Important general characteristics to observe

In military justice a clear distinction is made between the period of peace and the period of war. In this sense, criminal procedures are different from one period to another. As a general criterion, a crime is considered more serious if it occurs in a war situation.

The crimes that are tried are defined in the corresponding codes of military justice. As is logical, the persons tried are the military of a country that make up the set of the armed forces and as rule In general, military courts do not try civilians. If a military man commits a criminal action as a citizen, he will be tried by an ordinary court of justice.

In the prescribed codes, a series of specific crimes are presented: on national sovereignty, state security, war crimes, crimes of espionage, desertion from the army, etc.

Courts of this nature do not exist in all countries, since in some nations it is considered that all citizens must be tried by the same courts regardless of their civil or civil status military.

Those who defend the existence of this institution independent of ordinary justice argue that the right Military is more effective than ordinary law to combat terrorist actions or to fight drug trafficking and organized crime.

The application of martial law and its application in the Philippines

In the majority of constitutions it is indicated that in certain exceptional situations or emergency national courts, it is possible that the ordinary courts transfer its powers to the military courts. When this happens they talk about law martial law and its effective application depends on the military authorities. When martial law becomes effective, constitutional guarantees are temporarily suspended in order to restore normality and social order.

In 2017, martial law was declared in some territories of the Philippines with the purpose of combating some jihadist movements. This exceptional situation is not exempt from criticism, as some sectors of the Philippine opposition consider that the approval of this law may represent a threat against democracy.

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