Military justice must adapt to legal, social changes: Gen VP Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

Stating that military justice has to adapt to legal and social changes, a former Chief of the Army Staff, Gen VP Malik, today said that judicial independence couldn’t be disregarded and judges and prosecutors must be free from external influences.

Speaking at the launch of a book on military law, “March to Justice”, edited by an Indian and a US lawyer, Major Navdeep Singh and Lt Col Franklin D Rosenblatt, General Malik said there were certain areas in our system that needed to be improved.

The book is an anthology of short essays and commentaries by jurists, judges and academics from around the world on milestone judicial decisions that changed the course of military law in different jurisdictions.

Pointing out that the purpose of military justice is to ensure discipline, efficiency and morale, General Malik said justice, however, couldn’t be sacrificed at the altar of discipline and that fair play must be ensured.

Stating that “we cannot deviate from justice”, he added that an unjust decision was subversive to military justice. The former Army Chief stressed that justice should not only be done but should also be seen to have been done.

Justice Rajive Bhalla, former judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, who moderated a panel discussion on aspects relating to military law, said liberty as enjoyed by the common citizen is not available to military personnel because of provisions of Article 33 of the Constitution. The article empowers Parliament to place restrictions on the rights of armed forces personnel and certain other categories of employees.

Prof Eugene R Fidell from Yale School of Law, US; Justice Maria Elizabeth Rocha from the Superior Court, Brazil; Maya Heller, judge in Israel; Prof Shruti Bedi, from the University Institute of Legal Studies, Chandigarh, and Pascal Levesque, former legal officer, Canadian Armed Forces, participated in the discussion.