"In this case, you are dealing with a common law offense committed by members of the military." Secondly, the defense counsel pointed out that the events occurred during the soldiers' regular duty. "They were on a security mission at the Palace Hotel in Ouagadougou," he maintained. In light of the aforementioned elements, the legal question that arises is whether the law reserves jurisdiction over this type of case to another court.
To address this, Mr. Minoungou cited the law governing the military justice code, specifically Article 34, which stipulates, among other things, that military courts have jurisdiction over offenses committed by military personnel. "This case falls under the jurisdiction of the Military Court," he concluded. He noted that in 1994, members of the gendarmerie were not subject to the jurisdiction of the Military Court, according to Article 41 of the military justice code. Following this date, particularly with the law of July 4, 2017, Article 41 was repealed.
In 2023, the defendants' counsel continued, a law was passed amending the military justice code. "But this law did not address the jurisdiction of the Military Court regarding cases involving gendarmes... One cannot choose to bring a matter of employee dismissal before the Criminal Court. Similarly, a land dispute will not go before the Military Court. In this particular case, the matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of the criminal chamber of the Regional Court," he concluded.
The offense occurred in 2020. Does that suggest a problem?
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