Military Jurisdiction in Spain

In a recent interview given in Ceuta by Judge Clara Martinez de Careaga, the first female judge of the Military Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, she underlined the constitutional nature of military jurisdiction in Spain. Unlike France, where military jurisdiction in peacetime has been done away with, in Spain, since 1987, it has been integrated with the rest of the ordinary jurisdictions into the Judicial branch of government. The military chamber is Chamber V of the Spanish Supreme Court and is comprised of a President and seven judges.  Four of the judges are career judges and the other four are judges from the military.

Judge Martinez de Careaga pointed out that military jurisdiction has been evolving and reforms have been introduced, most recently the new Military Criminal Code which establishes that appointments are made by the General Council of the Judicial  Branch and not by the Ministry of Defense, as in the past.  Military Jurisdiction concentrates strictly on military matters.  In addition, she noted, the military itself has been adapting to modern times such as participation in international missions, the creation of the Military Unit of Emergencies and the military reform which reorganized the Army along territorial lines.