Statement by Mr. Driss El Yazami, CNDH Chairman
The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) took notes of the bill on military justice, which has just been adopted by the Council of Ministers, meeting under the chairmanship of His Majesty the King, this Friday, March 14, 2014.
The CNDH notes in particular that under this bill no civilians, under any circumstances, shall be brought before a military court, including civilians employed by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and accomplice civilians. The bill limits the jurisdiction of the military court only to military offenses and offenses committed in time of war, excluding minors who shall never be
brought before this court no matter what. It also reinforces the guarantees of independence for the judges of military justice, aligns the procedure before the military court with that applied in ordinary courts, etc.
The bill strengthens the rights of individuals and the guarantees of fair trial, including the rights to appeal before an appeal body, allowing any person who has suffered damage (subject to prosecution before a military tribunal) to bring his/her case before this body, etc.
The CNDH welcomes the adoption of a bill that is in full compliance with the Constitution of July 2011, the main international human rights law instruments and the relevant international jurisprudence.
The CNDH also notes that the bill has taken into account the relevant international law provisions that the Council had referred to in drafting its memorandum on military justice: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Protocol, several resolutions of the UN General Assembly of the United
Nations (including the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary 1985 ), resolutions of the Human Rights Commission and later the Human Rights Council (including the draft guiding principles of administration of justice through military tribunals in 2006), reports of UN independent experts and the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human rights.
The adoption of this bill is a major step towards the consolidation of the rule of law, judicial reform and the protection of human rights.