Military Justice System Time Standards
The table below sets out the time standards applicable to every phase of the military justice system to continue to assure the maintenance of discipline, efficiency and morale of the CAF. These time standards have been published in order to satisfy the recommendation made by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) in its report on the Administration of Justice in the Canadian Armed Forces, tabled before Parliament on 29 May 2018, that “the Canadian Armed Forces should define and communicate time standards for every phase of the military justice process and ensure there is a process for tracking and enforcing them.” The Chief of the Defence Staff announced the publication of these time standards by CANFORGEN 023/20 SJS 001/20 and ordered that all CAF members must be aware of the time standards.
The following military justice stakeholders were consulted in the establishment of time standards which were not specified by legislation, regulation or policy:
- Vice Chief of the Defence Staff – representing the CAF Chain of Command;
- Canadian Forces Provost Marshal;
- Director of Military Prosecutions;
- Director of Defence Counsel Services;
- CAF Discipline Advisory Council;
- Office of the Chief Military Judge;
- Office of the Judge Advocate General.
| Military Justice System Time Standards1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Phase of the Military Justice System |
Time Starts (Date of:) |
Time Ends (Date of:) |
Time Standard2 | Source of Authority for Time Standard |
| Pre-Trial Detention | |||||
| 1 | Delivery of Report of Custody | Arrest | Delivery of Report of Custody | 24 hours | NDA s. 158.1(1) |
| 2 | Review of Report of Custody | Arrest | Delivery of Review of Report of Custody | 48 hours | NDA s. 158.2(1) |
| 3 | Military Judge Review of Custody 3 | Arrest | Appearance Before Military Judge | As soon as practicable | NDA s. 159(1) |
| 4 | Military Judge 90-Day Review of Custody | Arrest | Appearance Before Military Judge | 90 days | NDA s. 159.8 |
| Investigative Process | |||||
| 5 | Investigation Initiated | Reporting of Offence | Investigator Assigned | 3 days | CAFDAC4 |
| 6 | Unit Investigation (Regular Force) | Investigator Assigned | Investigation Report Submitted | 15 days | CAFDAC |
| 7 | Unit Investigation (Reserve Force) | Investigator Assigned | Investigation Report Submitted | 30 days | CAFDAC |
| Charge Laying Process | |||||
| 8 | Charge Layer Assigned | Investigation Report Submitted | Charge Layer Assigned | 2 days | CAFDAC |
| 9 | Charge Laying - Legal Advice Not Required | Charge Layer Assigned | Charge Laying Decision | 30 days | CAFDAC & VCDS |
| 10 | Charge Laying - Legal Advice Request | Charge Layer Assigned | Legal Advice Requested | 3 days | CAFDAC |
| 11 | Charge Laying - Legal Advice Provided | Legal Advice Provided | Charge Laying Decision | 30 days | CAFDAC & VCDS |
| 12 | Charge(s) Laid - Summary Trial | Alleged Offence | Charge(s) Laid | 6 months | NDA s. 163(1.1) |
| Legal Advice | |||||
| 13 | Pre-Charge Legal Advice | Legal Advice Requested | Legal Advice Provided | 14 days | JAG Policy Directive 048/18, para 32 |
| 14 | Pre-Charge Legal Advice - Prosecution Advice Required | Determination by unit legal advisor that a charge is likely to result in a court martial | Request Sent to Regional Military Prosecutor | 5 days | JAG Policy Directive 048/18, para 32 |
| 15 | Prosecution Pre-Charge Legal Advice –Summary Trial | Request Sent to Regional Military Prosecutor | Regional Military Prosecutor Advice Provided | 14 days | DMP Policy Directive 002/00 para 435 |
| 16 | Prosecution Pre-Charge Legal Advice – Court Martial | Request Sent to Regional Military Prosecutor | Regional Military Prosecutor Advice Provided | 30 days | DMP Policy Directive 002/00 para 43 |
| 17 | Pre-Charge Legal Advice – With Prosecution Input | Regional Military Prosecutor Advice Provided | Legal Advice Provided | 7 days | JAG Policy Directive 048/18, para 32 |
| 18 | Post-Charge Legal Advice | Legal Advice Requested | Legal Advice Provided | 7 days | JAG Policy Directive 049/18, para 5 |
| Pre-Trial – Summary Trial | |||||
| 19 | Disclosure Provided to Accused | Charge(s) Laid | Disclosure Provided | 3 days | CAFDAC |
| 20 | Election/Waiver Provided to Accused | Election/waiver Offered | Election/waiver Received | More than 24 hours | QR&O 108.17(2) and QR&O 108.171(1)(b) |
| Pre-Trial – Court Martial | |||||
| 21 | Accused's Representation Wishes Communicated to Defence Counsel Services | Charges Direct to Court Martial or Election to Court Martial | Wishes Delivered to Defence Counsel Services | 2 days | DDCS, VCDS, CAFDAC |
| 22 | Referral Application Delivered to Referral Authority | Charges Direct to Court Martial or Election to Court Martial | Application Delivered to Referral Authority | 14 days | VCDS and CAFDAC |
| 23 | Referral Application Delivered to Director of Military Prosecutions | Application Delivered to Referral Authority | Application Delivered to Director of Military Prosecutions | 30 days | VCDS and CAFDAC |
| Summary Trial Process | |||||
| 24 | Summary Trial Commenced | Alleged Offence | Start of Summary Trial | 1 year | NDA s. 163(1.1) |
| 25 | Summary Trial Commenced | Charge(s) Laid | Start of Summary Trial | 20 days | CAFDAC |
| 26 | Summary Trial Length | Start of Summary Trial | End of Summary Trial | 3 days | VCDS and CAFDAC |
| Court Martial Process | |||||
| 27 | Witness List Provided | Disclosure Package Provided to Accused (or counsel) | Prosecutor Informs Accused of Proposed Witnesses | 15 days | DMP Policy Directive 017/18, para 7 |
| 28 | Court Martial Scheduling Discussion | Disclosure and the List of Witnesses Provided to Accused | Defence Counsel Engaged for Court Martial Scheduling | 30 days | DMP Policy Directive 017/18, para 8 |
| 29 | Court Martial Complete | Charge(s) Laid | End of Court Martial | 18 months | R v Jordan, 2016 SCC 27 |
| Summary Trial Review | |||||
| 30 | Presiding Officer's Comments | Request for Review | Presiding Officer Comments Provided | 7 days | QR&O 108.45(6) |
| 31 | Review Authority’s Decision | Request for Review | Review Authority's Decision | 21 days | QR&O 108.45(10) |
Footnotes
1 Where legislation, regulation or policy did not specify a time standard, the applicable time standard was established following review and consultation with military justice system stakeholders.
2 The time standard is the maximum amount of time in calendar days that may be used to complete the task (except where indicated). The publication of these time standards further allows their incorporation into the Justice Administration and Information Management System (JAIMS), a system that electronically tracks discipline files from the time a complaint is received to the time a file is closed, to further facilitate their tracking and enforcement. JAIMS will require decision makers at various stages to provide justifications should they not meet time standards, which will assist in identifying and resolving the causes of delays.
3 The Office of the Chief Military Judge is not subject to time standards. At weekly coordinating or pre-trial conferences held with counsel, military judges manage trial issues and promote fairness and efficiency of courts martial. The duties and functions of the Court Martial Administrator are specified in the National Defence Act and the QR&O to support the administration of courts martial.
4 The “Canadian Armed Forces Discipline Advisory Council”. CAFDAC is mandated to discuss and provide input on matters pertaining to the maintenance of discipline and policies related to the continued effective functioning of the Code of Service Discipline. It is co-chaired by the Canadian Armed Forces Chief Warrant Officer and the Judge Advocate General Chief Warrant Officer and its membership includes the most senior non-commissioned members from each command and from other key organizations within the Canadian Armed Forces
5 All time standards relating to Military Prosecutors are established by the Director of Military Prosecutions and are published in DMP Policies.
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