Chapter One: Who We are: The Office of the Judge Advocate General - 2015-16

The Judge Advocate General

The JAG is appointed by the Governor in Council and acts as legal advisor to the Governor General, the Minister of National Defence (the Minister), DND and the Canadian Forces in matters relating to military law. In addition, the JAG has a statutory mandate to superintend the administration of military justice. He is responsible to the Minister in the performance of his duties and functions.

The JAG has command over all officers and non-commissioned members posted to a position established within the Office of the JAG. The duties of those legal officers are determined by or under the authority of the JAG and, in respect of the performance of those duties, a legal officer is not subject to the command of an officer who is not a legal officer. This structure reinforces the obligations of the legal profession and ensures that legal officers working within the Office of the JAG are able to provide independent legal advice.

Office of the Judge Advocate General

The Office of the JAG supports the JAG in carrying out his duties and functions. It is composed of CAF Regular and Reserve Force legal officers, civilian members of the Public Service, and a small number of CAF members from other military occupations. All qualified legal officers serving in the Office of the JAG are members in good standing of their respective provincial or territorial law societies, and are officers ranging in rank from Captain/Lieutenant (Navy) to Major-General.

The Office of the JAG is composed of the Directorate of Military Prosecutions, the Directorate of Defence Counsel Services, and the following five Divisions: Military Justice, Administrative Law, Operational Law, Regional Services, and the Chief of Staff. Offices of the Office of the JAG are located both across Canada and internationally. Figure 1-1 shows a map of all of the different offices within the Office of the JAG.

Figure 1-1: Canadian Offices of the Judge Advocate General

Figure 1-1: Canadian Offices of the Judge Advocate General

Figure 1-1: Offices of the Judge Advocate General outside of Canada

Figure 1-1: Offices of the Judge Advocate General outside of Canada

Director of Military Prosecutions

The Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP), the senior military prosecutor in the CAF, is appointed by the Minister for a fixed term pursuant to subsection 165.1(1) of the NDA. The DMP acts independently from CAF and DND authorities when exercising his prosecutorial powers, duties and functions. In accordance with section 165.15 of the NDA, the DMP may be assisted and represented, to the extent determined by the DMP, by officers who are barristers or advocates with standing at the bar of a province. In this regard the DMP is assisted by a number of Regular and Reserve Force legal officers appointed to act as military prosecutors, along with a civilian paralegal and support staff. This organization, known as the Canadian Military Prosecution Service, is organized regionally with Regional Military Prosecutors located in Halifax, Valcartier, Ottawa, Edmonton and Esquimalt.

It is the responsibility of the DMP, with the assistance of those legal officers appointed to act as military prosecutors, to prefer all charges to be tried by court martial, to conduct all prosecutions at court martial and for acting as counsel, when instructed, in respect of appeals to the Court Martial Appeal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada. The DMP is also responsible to provide advice in support of investigations conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, a military police service that reports to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal.

The DMP is under the general supervision of the JAG and, in this regard, the JAG may issue general instructions or guidelines in writing in respect of prosecutions, which the DMP must ensure are made available to the public. The JAG may also issue instructions or guidelines in writing in respect of a particular prosecution. The DMP must ensure that these instructions or guidelines are also available to the public, unless the DMP considers that doing so would not be in the best interest of the administration of military justice. During the reporting period, no general or specific instructions were issued to the DMP.

In accordance with the Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces (QR&O) article 110.11 the DMP reported to the JAG on the execution of his duties and functions for this reporting period. This report was received by the JAG on 13 May 2016.

Director of Defence Counsel Services

The Director of Defence Counsel Services (DDCS) is appointed by the Minister for a fixed term pursuant to subsection 249.18(1) of the NDA. The DDCS acts independently from CAF and DND authorities when exercising his powers, duties and functions. In accordance with section 249.21 of the NDA, the DDCS may be assisted in his duties and functions by persons who are barristers or advocates with standing at the bar of a province. In this regard the DDCS, located in the National Capital Region, is assisted by a number of Regular and Reserve Force legal officers who act as defence counsel, along with a civilian paralegal and support staff.

In accordance with QR&O article 101.11, it is the responsibility of the DDCS to provide legal services, including full legal representation at no cost to the individual, to all persons who are liable to be charged, dealt with and tried under the Code of Service Discipline including:

Although under the general supervision of the JAG, the DDCS is independent of the JAG and other CAF and DND authorities when carrying out the wide array of prescribed duties and functions that pertain to providing defence counsel services to persons subject to the Code of Service Discipline. The JAG may issue written general instructions or guidelines in respect of defence counsel services. The DDCS is required to make these general instructions or guidelines available to the public. However, unlike with the DMP, the JAG has no authority to issue instructions or guidelines in respect of a particular case. During the reporting period, no general instructions were issued to the DDCS.

In accordance with QR&O paragraph 101.11(4) the DDCS is required to report to the JAG on the provision of legal services prescribed by regulations and the performance of any other duties that are not incompatible with the duties as defence counsel. This report was received by the JAG on 25 May 2016.

Military Justice Division

The Military Justice Division assists the JAG in superintending the administration of military justice and ensuring its responsible development within the Canadian justice system. It is comprised of three directorates: Military Justice Strategic, Military Justice Policy and Military Justice Operations. The Military Justice Strategic directorate is responsible for the development and implementation of a strategic military justice vision that allows the Office of the JAG and the CAF to anticipate and respond to external and internal challenges while bringing positive change to the military justice system. In addition, the Military Justice Strategic directorate plays a key role in the development of legislation related to the military justice system. The Military Justice Policy directorate is focused entirely on the development of military justice regulations, including but not limited to amendments to the QR&O required to bring the remaining provisions of Bill C-15, the Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, into force.

During the reporting period, the Military Justice Operations directorate was subdivided into two separate teams. One team is located at National Defence Headquarters, which is responsible for supporting the JAG with key aspects of the superintendence of the administration of military justice and the day-to-day operation of the military justice system. The second team is embedded with the Canadian Forces Military Police Group and provides legal advice on matters related to military policing.

Administrative Law Division

The Administrative Law Division advises on legal matters pertaining to the administration of the CAF such as military personnel policies, administrative investigations, compensation, benefits, pensions and estates. DND officials and CAF authorities derive their appointments and powers from statutory authorities largely contained in the NDA. Given the size and complexity of the CAF and the multitude of administrative decisions made each day, one of the objectives of providing legal advice in the administrative law realm is to ensure that these decisions are made in accordance with the applicable legislation, the rule of law and procedural fairness requirements.

The Administrative Law Division is composed of three directorates: Military Personnel, Administrative Law and Compensation, Benefits, Pensions and Estates. During the reporting period, the Military Personnel Directorate was divided into two separate directorates: Military Personnel Operations and Military Personnel Strategic Policy. Military Personnel Operations is responsible to provide legal advice on the application of existing personnel policies and orders in areas that include recruitment, promotion, administrative reviews for conduct or performance deficiencies and release. Military Personnel Strategic Policy is responsible to provide legal advice on the development and application of personnel policies and orders that impact CAF members.

Operational Law Division

The Operational Law Division is responsible for the provision of legal support for all domestic and international operations. Additionally, the Operational Law Division oversees all legal officers deployed on operations. These legal officers provide legal support to deployed CAF elements in all aspects of military law, including the military justice system.

The Operational Law Division is comprised of five directorates: The Strategic Joint Staff (SJS) Legal Advisor, the Directorate of International and Operational Law (DIOL), the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) Legal Advisor, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) Legal Advisor, and the Directorate of Law, Intelligence and Information Operations (DLaw I&IO). In addition, during this reporting period the Operational Law Division was responsible to provide legal support on two overseas operations: OP IMPACT and OP REASSURANCE.

The SJS Legal Advisor provides legal advice on all strategic level operational issues affecting CAF operations around the world including domestic and international legal authorities, rules of engagement and use of force. The DIOL provides advice on the international and domestic legal frameworks for CAF activities including the law of armed conflict, international human rights law and international criminal law. The CJOC Legal Advisor provides legal advice to Commander CJOC on all legal matters related to the conduct of military operations at the operational level, in both continental and expeditionary contexts. The CANSOFCOM Legal Advisor provides legal advice in all aspects of military law to CANSOFCOM including its mandated response to all domestic and international terrorist attacks, international crisis and associated threats. The DLaw I&IO is the primary legal advisor to the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command and provides legal advice on strategic, operational and tactical level issues relating to both domestic and international matters of an intelligence nature. Key areas of legal advice include information sharing, open source intelligence, counter-intelligence investigations, and the development of future cyber capabilities.

Regional Services Division

The Regional Services Division delivers legal services to CAF commanders in Canada, Europe and the United States and has legal offices divided into various regions, each led by an Assistant Judge Advocate General (AJAG). Legal advisors in the Regional Services Division provide legal advice to Regular and Reserve Force commands, formations and units on many aspects of the administration of military justice including at the pre-charge and pre-trial phases, to referral authorities when charges are referred to the DMP, to presiding officers during the course of a summary trial and to review authorities where there is a request for review by an accused or a review has been independently initiated by a review authority. In addition, legal advisors in the Regional Services Division also provide legal advice to CAF commanders on administrative law and operational law matters.

The regional AJAG offices are located in Ottawa, Germany, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Esquimalt and Colorado Springs. In addition, there are a number of Deputy Judge Advocate offices located across Canada which report directly to their respective regional AJAG.

Chief of Staff Division

The Chief of Staff Division is composed of legal officers, other CAF officers and non-commissioned members along with civilian staff. This Division is responsible for providing internal support and administrative services to the Office of the JAG. This includes military personnel management, financial services, information management, library services and training, as well as overseeing all civilian staff in the Office of the JAG. The non-legal military personnel are an essential part of this division and key contributors to our success in administrative and financial tasks.

Legal Officers Serving Outside the Office of the Judge Advocate General

In addition to the legal officers serving in the above-mentioned organizations, a number of legal officers serve outside the Office of the JAG. They include those working at the Privy Council Office, Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Forces Military Law Centre and at the Department of National Defence/Canadian Forces Legal Advisor with the Department of Justice.

Office of the Judge Advocate General Chief Warrant Officer

The JAG Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) serves as the senior non-commissioned member advisor to the JAG. Based on the command team concept, the JAG CWO provides perspective to the JAG and his leadership team on strategic issues related to the JAG’s statutory roles, the CAF and the Office of the JAG.

Together with the Canadian Forces CWO, the JAG CWO also co-chairs the Canadian Armed Forces Discipline Advisory Council. This recently formed council includes the most senior non-commissioned members from each command, and from other key level one organizations. The council meets to discuss strategic issues relevant to the maintenance of discipline, and provides input to both Armed Forces Council and the JAG.

Other experienced CWOs and Chief Petty Officers First Class (CPO1) are posted to positions in the AJAG offices within Canada and in some Deputy Judge Advocate offices. The AJAG and Deputy Judge Advocate CWOs/CPO1s provide an invaluable link between senior non-commissioned members at the unit, base and formation levels and the local legal office in addressing disciplinary matters.

Civilian Personnel of the Office of the Judge Advocate General

Civilian personnel form an integral and essential part of the Office of the JAG and contribute greatly to its continued success. They occupy positions located throughout CAF Bases and Wings in Canada and abroad and provide key support to legal officers and their non-legal military personnel through their work in administrative, analytical and technical tasks.

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