A brief history of court martials in Pakistan, India, US, UK

LAHORE: Although the roots of military law stretch back to ancient Roman and Greek civilisations, where it was adopted to enforce discipline within the ranks, the relatively modern concept of court martial can be traced in British military traditions, research shows.

British National Archives and a peek into the annals of the country’s judicial history reveal that from 1521 onwards, it was called the "Court of the Marshal" in the United Kingdom.

In 1666, the office of Judge Advocate General was created to supervise the court martials.

Historically, the responsibilities of the British Judge Advocate General were wide and included oversight of both prosecution and defence arrangements as well as the court.

According to the United Kingdom's National Archives, court martial and desertion in the British Army were common between the 17th and 20th centuries.

The National Archives of the UK maintains that death sentences were passed by the British Army in court martials between 1914 and 1924 for offences such as sleeping on duty, cowardice, desertion, murder, mutiny and treason.

Death sentences were passed on over 3,000 British soldiers and over 90% of these sentences were later changed to other punishments, such as hard labour or penal servitude. Over 2,000 men were charged with mutiny between 1914 and 1922.

The United States, drawing inspiration from its colonial past, modified the British model.

The Time Magazine writes: "The system was not heavily used in World War I, but in World War II, some two million people were court martialed for varying offences, resulting in 80,000 felony convictions. One of the earliest court martial in US history occurred in 1779 when Major General Benedict Arnold was tried for using troops for personal gains.

"He was acquitted of most charges, but convicted of two minor violations. The most notorious trial in modern times was that of former Lieutenant William Calley, who was found guilty of participating in the 1968 massacre in Vietnam.

"Calley was convicted in 1971 of killing 22 people during the massacre, which cost hundreds of lives. He was sentenced to life in prison but President Nixon ordered his sentence reduced.

"He was eventually released after three years of house arrest. The last military execution took place in April 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder."

According to the United States Death Penalty Information Centre, some 135 soldiers have been executed by the United States military since 1916.

In 2008, the US Army apologised for the wrongful convictions of 28 African-American soldiers, out of the 43 tried, in the longest court martial of World War II.

An article appearing on the website of the University of South Carolina’s Law School, however, asserts that the first court martial in the United States began in 1778 when Colonel David Henley was acquitted of wrongfully injuring a British prisoner of war.

In undivided India, the provisions for summary court martial were not introduced into the regular army till the "Sepoy Mutiny" of 1857.

Indian media outlet NDTV wrote: "The discipline of the Indian Army deteriorated before the mutiny. After the suppression of the mutiny, it was found that the position of insignificance occupied by the regiment commandant was a major reason for the indiscipline. The commandant had practically no power to punish or reward his own men. Here, the need for a military court was felt, and thus created to punish military offenders."

In Pakistan, the history of court martial dates back to 1951 when 11 army officers and several civilians were accused of conspiring to overthrow then-premier Liaquat Ali Khan and the military leadership in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case.

The suspects were dissatisfied with the British dominance in the army and the increasing corruption in power corridors. They were also concerned about the government's growing ties to the United States. Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a renowned poet and editor of the Pakistan Times, was also detained for supporting the conspiracy.

Secret trials were held and the special tribunal was set up in Hyderabad prison. The defendants were denied the right to appeal.

Even though the charges could not be proved against the civilians and other army officials, many faced imprisonment.

Originally published in The News