Amending the Military Judiciary Law: A Violation of the Right to Trial before Natural Judge

 

Amending the Military Judiciary Law:

A Violation of the Right to Trial before Natural Judge

"Military justice is to justice as military music is to music."

                                                        George Clemenceau

Introduction:

 

Before the end of January 2024, Law No. 25 of 1966 amending the Military Judiciary Law was issued. At the beginning of February, Law No. 3 of 2024 on the Protection of Public Facilities was also issued. Both laws reflect an expansion of the role of the armed forces in civilian life, particularly at the security and judicial levels. This comes amidst a severe economic crisis and noticeable governmental confusion in mitigating its impact on the lives of millions of Egyptians. This also came consistent with the constitutional entitlement of applying two-level litigation in criminal cases.

 

The amendment to the Military Judiciary Law was expected to regulate the appeal process for military criminal rulings before a higher court, but the amendment was not limited to that, It added provisions allowing for the trial of civilians before military courts, deteriorating criminal justice. This was confirmed with the issuance of the Protection of Public Facilities law, which reintroduced the long-standing concern in the Egyptian political life: the trial of civilians before military courts, especially after issuing law no. 3 of 2024 which gave the armed forces a major role in criminal security, which is the inherent jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. 

 

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