OTTAWA – The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway is pleased to announce that the 2007-2008 Annual Report of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) on the administration of military justice in the Canadian Forces was tabled on March 25, 2009, in the House of Commons.
The JAG Annual Report acknowledges a number of developments in the military justice system. It indicates that the Canadian military justice system provides the Canadian Forces with the necessary tools to maintain and enforce discipline in accordance with the rule of law.
The ninth annual report canvasses much of the work done during the reporting period concerning military justice in the Canadian Forces including an overview of:
- service tribunal activity;
- military justice surveys results;
- military justice training activities;
- legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives; and
- the strategic initiatives undertaken.
The National Defence Act provides that the JAG is responsible for the superintendence of the administration of military justice in the Canadian Forces and requires the JAG to report annually to the Minister of National Defence on this subject. This report covers the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008.
The Director of Defence Counsel Services and the Director of Military Prosecutions are required to report annually to the JAG. The reports of the Director of Military Prosecutions and the Director of Defence Counsel Services are included as annexes to the JAG Report.
NOTE TO EDITORS: More information on the JAG and the full text of the 2007 – 2008 JAG Annual Report is available on the JAG website: http://www.forces.gc.ca/jag/publications/index-eng.asp
