평시 군사법원 체제 전환에 관한 소고(小考)

Abstract

On September 24, 2021, the Military Court Act was significantly revised, and peacetime military courts faced major organizational changes. For the first-instance the ordinary military court was abolished and the local military court is established under the Minister of National Defense, and for the second-instance, the high military court was abolished and the general civil court takes charge of appeals. This is a measure to realize the ‘rule of law’ that makes military courts equivalent to civil courts by excluding as much as possible the special characteristics of the military legal system, the so-called ‘commander judicial law’. However, peacetime military courts have not been abolished and remain. This is because an independent permanent military court, separate from the general court, is maintained at the first trial stage. Although there was discussion about the complete abolition of military courts during the legislative process, a compromise was passed due to opposition from the Ministry of National Defense. Through the revision of the 「Military Court Act」 in 2021, it seems clear that the peacetime military court system is in a state of ‘transitional transition’ and is at the crossroads between existence and abolition. In the paper, we examine the past, present, and future of the peacetime military court system transition. For the purpose, we analyze the transition process from a court-martial to a military court, the subsequent reform process of the military court, and the content and meaning of the 2021 law revision, and then analyze the peacetime military court system in this time. in the end We looked at the legal and policy review in relation to complete conversion, that is, abolition.