Judge Advocate General Branch (Pakistan)

Judge Advocate General Branch
Badge of Pakistan Army
Active1960; 64 years ago (1960)[1]
Country Pakistan
Branch Pakistan Army
TypeCombined and combat support service
RoleAdministrative and staffing oversight of military law and courts.
SizeVaries
HQ/GarrisonArmy GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname(s)JAG
Colors IdentificationWhite and Green
  
Anniversaries1959
EngagementsMilitary history of Pakistan
DecorationsMilitary Decorations of Pakistan military
Commanders
Judge Advocate GeneralMaj-Gen. Ghulam Jaffar
Notable
commanders
Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
Gen. Rahimuddin Khan
Insignia
War Flag

The Judge Advocate General Branch is a military administrative and the combined staff service branch of the Pakistan Army.: 431 [2][3]

The Judge Advocate General Branch is an army's branch,: 47 [3] but it has provided the legal services and justice to all branches of the Pakistani military and processes the proceedings of the field general courts-martial on occasions.: 431–432 [2]

Overview

In 1959, the Pakistan Air Force was the first military service that established the Judge Advocate General Department in a response to a need of introducing specialization in the legal field.: 47 [1] In fact, all members of the JAG are law graduates but not necessarily a member of the Pakistan Bar Council.: 47 [1] Since 1960, each branch of the Pakistani military now has its own JAG department but functions similarly to that of the army's JAG branch.[4]: 59 [1]

The JAG provides consultation to the Chiefs of Staff in the Pakistani military on legal matters relating to the military law.: 46 [1]

Since the 2015, the General Lawfare Directorate (GLD) of the army has now oversees the legal proceedings of the Judge Advocate General at all levels of command– which is usually head by an active-duty major-general as its director.[5][6] From 1947–2014, the army JAG was proceeding of its general court-martial which was overseen by the Brigadier.[7] Services of the army's JAG includes the military judges, warrant officers, paralegal noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted personnel, and other civilian employees.[8]

In spite of the series of lawsuits filed against the army's JAG at the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2008–10, the military justices and punishments sentenced by the army's JAG is barred from challenging its proceedings in the civilian courts— a clause that protected in the Constitution of Pakistan.[9] [10] The Director-General of the General Lawfare Directorate works under the Chief of General Staff but report directly to the Chief of Army Staff at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi, Punjab in Pakistan.: 55 [2]: 47–48 [3]

Court-martialed officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Military Law Review. Ohio: Headquarters, Department of the Army. 1973. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c The Pakistan Code: With Chronological Table and Index. Manager of Publications. 1966. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal (2002). The Armed Forces of Pakistan. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1633-5. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ Army, Pakistan (1960). The Army Regulations: Index to rules & instructions. Frontier Exchange Press. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  5. ^ Asad, Malik (2 January 2015). "Army gears up for legal battles". Dawn Epaper. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  6. ^ Cheema, Umar (8 June 2010). "Lal Masjid commandos seek Supreme Court's intervention:Denied copies of court martial proceedings; ISPR declines comments". The News International. Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory: Jang Group of Newspapers.
  7. ^ Asad, Malik (17 January 2015). "Army retires JAG just as military courts formed". DAWN.COM. Dawn newspaper. Dawn newspaper. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ Jha, Wing Commander (Dr) U. C. (15 August 2016). Pakistan Army: Legislator, Judge and Executioner: Legislator, Judge and Executioner. KW Publishers Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-86288-30-1. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Axed Pakistan Army commando opposed to 'Lal Masjid' operation still denied justice".
  10. ^ "Civilian Courts cannot interfere in Military Courts decisions:Supreme Court of Pakistan" (in Urdu). Jang Group. 17 July 2010. pp. 3–4. Archived from the original on 20 July 2010.