A court martial stayed for delay - a convoluted path

Last Wednesday, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (CMAC) upheld a stay of prosecution for delay.  While this judgment is unlikely to have a marked impact on jurisprudence in Canadian military law, it may impact the manner in which the Canadian Military Prosecution Service (CMPS) governs itself. 

In R v Jacques, 2026 CMAC 3, Chief Justice Mary Gleason (on behalf of a unanimous bench) dismissed both the appeal by the Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) - on behalf of the Minister - and the cross-appeal by Major Jacques (retired).

And it is illustrative that Major Jacques was still serving when the process began, but was retired by the time that the appeal was heard.

This matter has a relatively long history.  It is, perhaps, not as long as some well-aged grievances in the Canadian Forces grievance process, but the judgment of the CMAC marks the (likely) end of a process that has taken nearly 7 years.
 
This judgment concerns the application of the framework established by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) under R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27 (the "Jordan framework") as applied at court martial.  This framework is used to assist in determining if an accused has been denied trial within a reasonable amount of time, thereby contravening the accused right under s 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter).

Hazing in Argentina

    Michael Verón, 26 years of age, became a victim of a "welcome" ritual on his military base in the province of Misiones in Argentina, where he became a paraplegic and lost consciousness for 21 days.  The event occurred on June 8, 1922, when the victim, who suffered a serious, irreversible, spinal cord injury after having been subjected to abusive and humiliating practices known as the "promotion baptism," could no longer feel his extremities or move.  The "baptism" involved the victim taking on the expense of making a barbecue for everyone, and then forcing him to drink too much alcohol and food, and then to fling himself repeatedly into a swimming pool with very little water.

In this context, Verón, when speaking in public, said that he could no longer remember whether he fell into the pool, or was pushed or whether they threw him into it.  His injuries occurred in the swimming pool when he was obliged to throw himself into the pool for the third time.  Each activity was ordered as part of the ritual. He said that there has to be a final stop to these brutal rituals within the military.

A total of 25 members of the base were submitted to the Disciplinary Council of the Army. The investigation ended with 15 members of the military getting light sanctions, another 7 received 60 days  arrest and 4 were removed from their posts, having been held to have principal responsibility for the ritual.

A similar case occurred with the death of Matías Chirino (22) on June 18, 2025.  He died of bronchial aspiration during a similar ritual and the members of the military responsible were tried for homicide.  The federal court has also taken up the case of Verón, but since he is not dead those responsible are being tried for responsibility for the victim's "serious injuries."  The military has assumed charge of his medical care and four years later he is still unable to move or feel his legs.

Stiffer penalties coming in Taiwan

Taiwan is considering stiffer penalties for certain national security offenses by military personnel. Reporting here from the Taipei Times. Excerpt:

The Ministry of National Defense is addressing Taiwan’s light sentences for national security contraventions through legal reforms and by improving internal military security, while pushing amendments to the Military Trial Act, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo said today.

Koo’s statement comes after the Control Yuan yesterday urged stricter punishments for military personnel convicted of contravening national security regulations by spying for China, saying that the average sentence is 12.7 times shorter than in other democratic countries.

The ministry has proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces increasing the penalties for expressing “loyalty” to the enemy and for “conspiracy” and “premeditation,” Koo said.

2026 CAAF CLE and training program

This year's USCAAF CLE and Training Program will be held at Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, VA, on May 13-14. The program looks both interesting and worthwhile. You can find it here. Registration information can be found here.

A note on the prosecution of civilians by DRC military courts

Legality of Prosecutions Brought by the Military Prosecutors' Office Against Civilians in the DRC: Analysis in Light of the Constitutional Principle of Legality by François Lukangila N'subi and Jules Mupenda Kangamina can be downloaded here. Abstract:

This article examines the legality of prosecutions initiated by the military auditor against civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo in light of the constitutional principle of legality and the right to one's natural judge. It demonstrates that, under the Constitution and the Military Judicial Code, military courts are, in principle, not competent to prosecute civilians, except in narrowly defined and legally established exceptions.

Through a legal, doctrinal, and jurisprudential analysis, the study highlights recurring abuses in judicial practice, where civilians are prosecuted by military prosecutors for ordinary criminal offenses that clearly fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts. The article emphasizes that the military prosecutor's office is a specialized institution primarily tasked with maintaining discipline within the armed forces and related services.

The study further exposes the illegality of certain practices involving the collection of judicial fees by military magistrates, particularly transactional fines and bail for provisional release, which are explicitly prohibited by military law. Such practices constitute a violation of the principle of equality before the law and may give rise to disciplinary, civil, and criminal liability. Ultimately, the article calls for strict enforcement of constitutional and legal provisions governing military jurisdiction, in order to safeguard fundamental rights, ensure legal certainty, and strengthen the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of Congo.