60 more civilians sentenced in Pakistan

Dawn reports here on the sentences meted out to anther 60 civilians by Pakistan's military courts. A decision on the validity of all of these cases by the Supreme Court cannot come too soon.

Supreme Court review of military courts in Israel

An article by Yotam Berger, From Uniforms to Robes: Unveiling Judicial Review Practices of the Supreme Court of Israel in Cases Adjudicated in Military Tribunals, in the Emory International Law Review, describes the work of the Supreme Court of Israel in appeals from the Court-Martial of Appeal (CMA) and the Occupied Territories Court of Appeal (OTCA) from a comparative perspective. Concerning CMA cases (footnotes omitted):

If issuing a cert could be viewed as an intervention (since it allows the parties to relitigate the case as if it was an appeal) then the Supreme Court was far keener to intervene in CMA cases compared to the OTCA cases it reviewed over the examined period. The Court granted a cert in nine out of sixty requests. Over the same period of time, the Supreme Court held eleven hearings for cases that were previously litigated in the CMA and were granted a cert – nine in which a cert was issued during the examined timeframe, and two others in which a cert was granted before January 1, 2002 (since a few months could pass from the day a cert has been issued to the day the hearing was held). Of these eleven cases, the Supreme Court eventually reversed a decision made by the CMA in six cases – three of which seemingly without the preapproval of the army. 

Dési Bouterse reported to have died

Former Suriname President Dési Bouterse is reported to have died. He was a fugitive from justice, having never served time in prison despite having been convicted of murder by a military court and sentenced to 20 years' confinement. The New York Times has this obituary. Longtime Global Military Justice Reform contributor Brig. Gen. (ret) Jan Peter Spijk wrote about the final stage of the case here.

Military Courts Case docket

The Pakistan Kanoon Supreme Court Law Review web site has this useful online docket for Khawaja v. Federation of Pakistan (The Military Courts Case).

Best wishes from the glass-enclosed newsroom high above Global Military Justice Reform Plaza