Court Martial Comprehensive Review – Interim Report – 21 July 2017

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations and Frequent References

Executive Summary

Chapter 1 – Introduction

1.1............. Background
1.2............. Scope of the Comprehensive Review
1.3............. Composition of the Court Martial Comprehensive Review Team (CMCRT)
1.4............. Definitions and Terminology
1.5............. Assumptions
1.6............. Method for the Comprehensive Review
1.7............. Conclusion

Chapter 2 – Historical Background and Overview of the Court Martial System

2.1............. Introduction
2.2............. History of the Court Martial System: Origins up to 1950
2.3............. History of the Court Martial System: 1950-1999
2.4............. History of the Court Martial System: 1999 up to the Present
2.5............. Overview of the Current Court Martial System

2.5.1.......... Jurisdiction – People
2.5.2.......... Offences
2.5.3.......... Punishments and Sentences
2.5.4.......... Judges
2.5.5.......... Panels
2.5.6.......... Prosecutions
2.5.7.......... Defence Counsel Services
2.5.8.......... Evidence
2.5.9.......... Appeals
2.5.10........ Specially-Affected Groups or Individuals with Special Needs

2.6............. Conclusion

Chapter 3 – Past Studies and Critical Perspectives of the Court Martial System

3.1............. Introduction
3.2............. External, Objective, and Independent Reviews: 1997-2015

3.2.1.......... Defence Counsel Services Study, 1997
3.2.2.......... The Lamer Report, 2003
3.2.3.......... Bronson Report (DMP)
3.2.4.......... Bronson Report – Defence Counsel Services
3.2.5.......... “Equal Justice” – Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Report, 2009
3.2.6.......... The LeSage Report, 2011
3.2.7.......... The Deschamps Report, 2015

3.3............. Internal and Subjective Reviews: 2001-2012

3.3.1.......... Military Justice Interview Survey, 2001
3.3.2.......... Military Justice Interview Survey of Stakeholders, 2002
3.3.3.......... Military Justice Interview Survey of Stakeholders, 2007
3.3.4.......... Military Justice Stakeholder Interviews, 2010
3.3.5.......... Military Justice Stakeholder Interviews, 2012
3.3.6.......... Summary Trial Working Groups I and II, 2016

3.4............. Canadian Academic and Media Commentary

3.4.1.......... Journal Articles
3.4.2.......... Books
3.4.3.......... Popular Media

3.5............. International Law Discourse Relevant to Canada’s Court Martial System

3.5.1.......... The DeCaux Draft Principles
3.5.2.......... The Knaul Report
3.5.3.......... OHCHR Expert Consultation

3.6............. Conclusion

Chapter 4 – Consultation

4.1............. Introduction
4.2............. Liaison with the Department of Justice
4.3............. Public Consultation

4.3.1.......... Public Consultation – Summary of Results

4.4............. Targeted Consultations

4.4.1.......... Submission from the Federal Ombudsman For Victims of Crime
4.4.2.......... Submission from the Canadian Bar Association – Military Law Section
4.4.3.......... The Sexual Misconduct Response Centre
4.4.4.......... It’s Just 700
4.4.5.......... Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Perron, former Military Judge
4.4.6.......... Lieutenant-Commander (Retired) Levesque, Ph.D. (Military Law)
4.4.7.......... President of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War

4.5............. Internal Consultations

4.5.1.......... CAF Strategic Response Team on Sexual Misconduct
4.5.2.......... Chain of Command Consultation – Introduction
4.5.3.......... Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (Regular and Reserve Force)
4.5.4.......... Canadian Army

4.5.4.1....... 2nd Canadian Division
4.5.4.2....... 4th Canadian Division
4.5.4.3....... 5th Canadian Division - Division Chief Warrant Officer (Regular Force)

4.5.5.......... Royal Canadian Navy

4.5.5.1....... Maritime Forces Pacific (Regular and Reserve Force)
4.5.5.2....... The Crew of HMCS OTTAWA (Regular Force)

4.5.6.......... Royal Canadian Air Force
4.5.7.......... Chief of Military Personnel

4.5.7.1....... Commander, 1 Health Service Group (Regular Force)

4.5.8.......... The Director of Defence Counsel Services
4.5.9.......... The Director of Military Prosecutions

4.6............. Key Observations from Consultation
4.7............. Conclusion

Chapter 5 – Comparative Study

5.1............. Introduction
5.2............. Technical Visit Country Reports – Foreign Court Martial Systems

5.2.1.......... The United States
5.2.2.......... Australia
5.2.3.......... New Zealand
5.2.4.......... Ireland
5.2.5.......... United Kingdom
5.2.6.......... Norway
5.2.7.......... Denmark
5.2.8.......... Finland
5.2.9.......... France
5.2.10........ The Netherlands
5.2.11........ Ancillary visits – Israel and Singapore

5.3............. International Comparative Study – Summary of Lessons

Chapter 6 – The Theoretical Basis for a Court Martial System

6.1............. Introduction
6.2............. The Purpose of Canada’s Military Justice System

6.2.1.......... The Purpose of a Summary Discipline System
6.2.2.......... The Dual Purposes of the Court Martial System
6.2.3.......... The Public Order and Welfare Purpose of the Court Martial System
6.2.4.......... The Disciplinary Purpose of the Court Martial System

6.3............. Developing a Purpose-Driven, Principled Basis for the Court Martial System

6.3.1.......... 1st Level – Principles Needed to Achieve the Court Martial System’s Purpose
6.3.2.......... 2nd Level – Features within the Court Martial System to Support Key Principles

6.4............. Conclusion

Chapter 7 – Assessment of the Current System

7.1............. Introduction

7.1.1.......... Important Note on ‘System’ Assessment
7.1.2.......... Sources of Information Relied Upon

7.2............. Overview: Assessment of the Current Court Martial System
7.3............. Individual Subject Area Assessments of the Current Court Martial System

7.3.1.......... Status and Institutional Structure of Tribunals
7.3.2.......... The Status and Institutional Structure of the Prosecution Service
7.3.3.......... Provision of Defence Counsel Services
7.3.4.......... The Substantive Body of Service Offences
7.3.5.......... Punishments, Sanctions, and Sentencing
7.3.6.......... The Laws of Evidence
7.3.7.......... The Rights, Grounds, and Mechanisms of Appeal
7.3.8.......... The Special Needs of any Particular Groups, Including Victims, Young Persons, and Aboriginal Offenders

7.3.8.1....... Victims / Survivors
7.3.8.2....... Young Persons
7.3.8.3....... Aboriginal Persons

7.3.9.......... Overall Assessment

7.4............. Conclusion

Chapter 8 – Introduction to Option Description and Analysis

Chapter 9 –Status and Institutional Structure of Tribunals (Courts)

9.1............. Introduction
9.2............. Overarching Considerations Relating to Tribunals / Courts

9.2.1.......... Permanent or ad hoc
9.2.2.......... Military or Civilian Judges
9.2.3.......... Court Reporters: Military Personnel or Contracted Civilian Service Providers
9.2.4.......... Judicial Training Opportunities

9.3............. Option 1: Military-only – Permanent military court composed of military judges

9.3.1.......... Assessment of Option 1

9.4............. Option 2: Military-Civilian Combination – Permanent military court composed of civilian judges

9.4.1.......... Assessment of Option 2

Chapter 10 – Status and Institutional Structure of Tribunals (Panels)

10.1........... Introduction
10.2........... Option 1 – Lay Members of a Judicial Panel inside and outside of Canada

10.2.1........ Assessment of Option 1

10.3........... Option 2 – Jury Trials inside of Canada and judge-alone trials outside of Canada

10.3.1........ Assessment of Option 2

Chapter 11 – Status and Institutional Structure of a Prosecution Service

11.1........... Introduction
11.2........... Common Elements of Options 1 and 2
11.3........... Option 1: Military Model – Military officer as Director of Military Prosecutions and Military prosecutors

11.3.1........ Assessment of Option 1

11.4........... Option 2: Civilian DND Model – DND Civilian Director of Service Prosecutions and DND civilian prosecutors

11.4.1........ Assessment of Option 2

11.5........... Option 3: Specialized PPSC Prosecutions – PPSC Deputy Director of Service Prosecutions, and specialized PPSC prosecutors

11.5.1........ Assessment of Option 3

Chapter 12 - Status and Institutional Structure of a Defence Counsel Service

12.1........... Introduction
12.2........... Overarching Considerations Relating to Defence Counsel Services

12.2.1........ Contribution by Accused Persons
12.2.2........ Tariffs Governing the Extent of Legal Services to be Provided
12.2.3........ Regionalization

12.3........... Common Elements to Options 1 and 2
12.4........... Option 1: Military Model – Military officer as Director of Defence Counsel services and Military defence lawyers

12.4.1........ Assessment of Option 1

12.5........... Option 2: CAF Legal Aid Scheme – Civilian Director of CAF Legal Aid and civilian defence lawyers

12.5.1........ Assessment of Option 2

12.6........... Option 3: Application of other frameworks – No CAF involvement in the provision of defence counsel services

12.6.1........ Assessment of Option 3

Chapter 13 – Options: Offences

13.1........... Introduction
13.2........... Option 1: Jurisdiction in Canada over uniquely military offences, and civilian offences only where there is a clear military nexus and with civilian prosecutor’s consent; jurisdiction outside of Canada over all offences

13.2.1........ Assessment of Option 1

13.3........... Option 2: Jurisdiction only over uniquely military offences inside of Canada; jurisdiction over all offences outside of Canada

13.3.1........ Assessment of Option 2

13.4........... Option 3: Jurisdiction only over uniquely military offences, both inside and outside of Canada; civilian criminal justice system has extra-territorial jurisdiction

13.4.1........ Assessment of Option 3

Chapter 14 – Punishments, Sanctions and Sentencing laws

14.1........... Introduction
14.2........... Option 1: Abolition of leadership-related punishments

14.2.1........ Assessment of Option 1

14.3........... Option 2: Mirror the sentencing options available in the civilian criminal justice system

14.3.1........ Assessment of Option 2

Chapter 15 – The Laws of Evidence

15.1........... Introduction
15.2........... Option 1: Update the Military Rules of Evidence

15.2.1........ Assessment of Option 1

15.3........... Option 2: Abolish the MRE and Use Statutory Amendments to Address Specialized Issues

15.3.1........ Assessment of Option 2

15.4........... Conclusion

Chapter 16 – Appeals

16.1........... Introduction
16.2........... Option 1: Incremental change – Minor changes to existing court and appeal structures

16.2.1........ Assessment of Option 1

16.3........... Option 2: Abolish the CMAC – Appeals from courts martial are made to the provincial Courts of Appeal

16.3.1........ Assessment of Option 2

Chapter 17 – Vulnerable Groups

17.1........... Introduction
17.2........... Victims’ rights and services comparable to the civilian system
17.3........... Enact sentencing consideration for aboriginal offenders equivalent to that in the Criminal Code
17.4........... For ordinary civilian offences, young persons should be dealt with by civilian courts, under the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Chapter 18 – Conclusion

Table of Annexes

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