How is the military justice system different from the civilian justice system?

• The military justice system is a closed, in-house system that operates within the chain of command in the military.
• It is composed of:
  • summary authorities who are serving ADF officers;
  • Defence Force Magistrates who are military legal officers; and
  • courts martial consisting of a panel of serving ADF officers and an ADF legal officer. 
• Judicial officers are therefore not considered independent as they are part of the chain of command within the military.
• In contrast the civilian justice system is comprised of constitutional courts that employ independent, impartial judicial officers and trials are generally open to the public.
• In recent years there have been efforts to establish an independent Australian Military Court where judicial officers are not part of the military chain of command. However the most recent effort to establish such a court has been ruled “unconstitutional” and is therefore now defunct.
• You can use our free and anonymous Ask a Lawyer service if you have a particular issue about military justice that you want to know more about.