Military Advocate General
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The Military Advocate General assists the Israel Defense Forces in imposing rules of conduct through legal advice, legal instruction, maintaining the mechanisms for military prosecution and legal defense, and fulfilling special legal tasks. It supervises, by exercizing the designated operative instruments and authority, over the rule of law in the IDF.
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[edit] Overview
The principal activities of the Military Advocate General are:
- Maintaining prosecution and legal defense systems before the military tribunals.
- Providing military authorities with legal advice on military law and the law in general (including international law).
- Maintaining the military tribunal system in areas falling under the jurisdiction of the IDF.
- Supervision over the rules of conduct in the IDF.
- Supervision over the investigatory arms in the IDF, and over the military detention centres.
- Representing the IDF before public and institutional bodies.
- Teaching law and jurisprudence in the IDF and its values among soldiers and commanders.
[edit] Structure
The Military Advocate General consists of the following bodies:
[edit] Chief Military Advocate General
Head of the service, currently Brigadier-General, Avichai Mendelblit. A member of the General Staff, but not professionally subordinate to the Chief of Staff.
[edit] Deputy Military Advocate General
Coordinates and directs the CMAG Command; serves as acting CMAG during the Chief's absence.
[edit] Chief Military Prosecution
Headed by the Chief Military Prosecutor, it is responsible for criminal prosecution. The Chief Military Prosecutor has exclusive authority to submitt appeals to the Military Court of Appeals over rulings rendered by the District Military Tribunals.
[edit] Chief Military Defense
Responsible for defending soldiers and officers before the military tribunals, during appeals to the Military Court of Appeals, and providing representation and legal advise to members of the military while they undergo an investigation.
[edit] Legal Supervision and Doctrine Branch
Comprised of three departments: The Administrative Justice Dept. oversees administrative conduct and provides legal advise on areas related to administrative law. The Amnesty Dept. centralizes amnesty appeals to the President, provides legal opinion to the Chief of Staff as an authority confirming verdicts and sentences (including their reductions), provides legal advise to the Committee for erasing the criminal records of soldiers prior to their recruitment, handles prisoner releases in the framework of peace agreements, and treats appeals to the Supreme Court. The Supervisory Dept. attends to criticisms of MAG bodies, and coordinates its activities with investigatory entities outside the IDF.
[edit] International Law Branch
This branch, headed by the CMAG Assistant for International Law, advises the service on areas related to international law (including the Palestinian territories).
[edit] Legislation and Consultancy Branch
This branch is responsible for legal counsultation and legislation pertaining to the military in areas unrelated to international law (or the Israeli-occupied territories).
[edit] Military Law School
The school is responsible for teaching law and jurisprudence, and for the training and professional advancement of MAG officers.
[edit] Further reading
- Menachem Finkelstein and Yifat Tomer, "The Israeli military legal system," Air Force Law Review, Winter, 2002.
