In Niger the trial of soldiers accused of conspiracy against state authority in 2015 has just ended with the verdict of the five judges of the military court. General Salou Souleymane, former chief of staff of the army, presents as the brains of the case is sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Very interesting. According to Niger military law, there's no appeal, only a "cassation" (literally to break it) which is akin to a judicial review or motion to quash.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to hear a father of one of the offenders says: [Translation] "I feel unfairness, here. I think it's a wrong decision. Not that we have fake judges here. But I feel we are in a State where the outcome has been dictated."
I kindly caution my fellow common law friends to draw inference from this quote to comfort any bias against an African military jurisdiction of a civil law tradition.
First, we could understand that this man's reaction on the spot could be influenced by his son's involvement in the case. It would be risky to equate such comment as a legal assessment or audit of a national military law system. For example, the defense counsel did not sound as dramatic as the father did.
Second, if the outcome was indeed "guided from above", I suggest it is more due to the fact that the case emerges from a military coup - therefore highly politically charged - like the courts martial following the 2000 Fijian coup, irrespective of the legal tradition.