Military courts of the Russian Federation (before 21 April 1992 - military tribunal) [1] are Federal ordinary courts that are part of Russian Judicial system, exercising judicial power in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies in which military service is provided for by federal law. [2]
In 1716, as part of the creation of the regular army and navy in Russia, Peter the Great established by his decree the "Correct Independent Military Court." A little later, the military manual (the first Russian military Criminal Code) was approved. [3]
During the military reforms of Emperor Alexander II in the second half of the 19th century, a major military judicial reform was carried out. On May 15, 1867, the Military Judicial Statute was adopted and a new military judicial structure was formed: regimental courts, military district courts and the Main Military Court. The district and Main Military Courts consisted of permanent military judges, who were selected by the Minister of War and appointed by order of the Emperor. The ranks for the military judicial department were supplied from among the graduate officers of the Alexander Military Law Academy, which was specially created for their training. They were equivalent in their position to officers who graduated from the General Staff Academy. [4]
After the October Revolution, the former system of military courts was completely abandoned and a new one was created anew. In the RSFSR and the USSR, military courts were called "military tribunals." They were established in 1918 on all fronts and in active armies, and on October 14 of the same year, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, the Revolutionary Military Tribunal of the Republic was formed. The first Regulation on military tribunals was approved in 1919. In the absence of criminal legislation (the first Soviet codes were adopted only in 1922), the military tribunals of the Civil War period (apart from them, there were revolutionary tribunals to try cases of crimes committed by citizens) were mostly punitive bodies. In 1921, the Military Collegium of the Revolutionary Military Tribunal of the Republic was formed, which in January 1923 was incorporated into the Supreme Court of the RSFSR, and in April 1924 into the Supreme Court of the USSR. [5]
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), a large range of acts and persons who committed them were transferred from ordinary courts to the jurisdiction of military tribunals (for example, they considered cases of any crimes committed in areas declared under martial law, any cases of crimes committed by railway, river and sea transport workers, persons consisting of in the people's militia and in extermination formations, in units of the MPVO, in the paramilitary security of the NKVD and others). They were also assigned to consider cases of atrocities in the occupied territory committed by Soviet traitors, as well as by members of the German army and employees of the occupation administration. Each division in the active army had a military field court (in peacetime, the lowest instance of the military courts were on the corps level). The cases were reviewed in a short time, and as a tool for overseeing court decisions, the approval of sentences by Military Councils of armies and fronts, and solely by corps and division commanders (with the right to reduce the severity of the sentence or cancel it) was introduced. After the end of the war, peacetime jurisdiction was restored. [6]
The special legal status of military courts is also noted by the fact that their jurisdiction includes all criminal cases of crimes committed by employees of the Russian FSB, SVR, the Federal Protective Service, the GUSP and other bodies in which federal law provides for military service, as well as civil cases of complaints by military personnel against the actions of these bodies.
Unlike territorial courts of general jurisdiction (district courts, courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation), judges of military courts have greater immunity. Thus, if in territorial courts the issues of recommendation for office and termination of powers fall within the competence of the qualification boards of judges of the subjects of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the chairman of the courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation and his deputies, whose appointment and dismissal fall within the competence of the Higher Qualification Board of Judges of the Russian Federation (VKKS), then in military courts the VKKS decides questions about the recommendation for the appointment and termination of the powers of the chairmen, the deputy chairmen and judges of the garrison military courts (the garrison court is equivalent in jurisdiction to the district court), as well as all judges and chairmen of the district military courts (equivalent in jurisdiction to the courts of the subject of the Russian Federation).
In the Russian Federation, military tribunals were renamed to military courts in 1992. The activities of military courts are currently regulated by Federal Constitutional Law "On Military Courts of the Russian Federation".
Until recently, judges of military courts were only military personnel with the military rank of officer, serving under contract, and meeting all the general requirements for federal judges. However, currently, due to the adoption of Federal Constitutional Law No. 3-FKZ dated June 29, 2009 "On Amendments and Additions to the Federal Constitutional Law "On Military Courts of the Russian Federation", civilians can become judges of military courts. At the same time, although the military rank of a reserve officer (and therefore his military education) is taken into account when appointing judges of military courts, nevertheless, the presence of an officer rank and military education is currently not necessary.
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