Judge Advocate General's Corps
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The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps) is the branch or specialty of a military concerned with military justice and military law. Officers serving in a JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates. Only the chief attorney within each branch is referred to as the Judge Advocate General; however, individual JAG Corps officers are colloquially known as JAGs.
Judge Advocates serve primarily as legal advisors to the command to which they are assigned. In this function, they can also serve as the personal legal advisor to their commander. Their advice may cover a wide range of issues dealing with administrative law, government contracting, civilian and military personnel law, law of war and international relations, environmental law, etc. They also serve as prosecutors for the military when conducting courts-martial. In the United States military, they are charged with both the defense and prosecution of military law as provided in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Highly experienced officers of the JAG Corps often serve as military judges in courts-martial and courts of inquiry.
Australia[edit]
The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC)[1] consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provide specific legal advice to commanders and general legal advice to all ranks. They must be admitted to practice as Australian Legal Practitioners.
Canada[edit]
The Office of the Judge Advocate General for the Canadian Forces provides legal advice to commanders at bases and wings, provides lawyers who defend accused persons at courts martial, teaches courses to other CF members or advises a commanding officer in an operational theatre to uphold the ethical and legal principles established by both the Canadian Forces and the Government of Canada. The current JAG of the Canadian Forces is Rear-Admiral G. Bernatchez.
Denmark[edit]
The Military Prosecution Service or Judge Advocate General's Corps (Danish: Forsvarets Auditørkorps, short FAUK) is a Danish independent military prosecutor and the legal branch of the Danish military. It is a Level.I command and is under the Ministry of Defence. The Judge Advocate General (Danish: Generalauditør) heads the Defence Judge Advocate Corps. It is located at Kastellet in Copenhagen.
United Kingdom[edit]
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- Judge Advocate of the Fleet
- Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces
- Army Legal Services Branch
- RAF Legal Branch
United States[edit]
The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy and Marines
Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates, JAGs.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
United States[edit]
- Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Manual for Courts-Martial United States (2008 Edition) Caution: 5.54 MB PDF document.
- United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Rules of Practice and Procedure