The civil and military context has different characteristics and one of them refers to the legal order. The justice military has specific institutions and procedures on the other hand, those who give the order to military life are employees belonging to the armed forces of a nation. Military Justice
Important general features to note
In military justice there is a clear distinction between the period of peace and that of war. In this sense, criminal procedures are different in each period. As a general criterion, an offense is considered more serious when it occurs in a situation of war.
Prosecuted offenses are defined in the corresponding codes of military justice. Logically, the persons being tried are the military of a country that make up the whole of the armed forces and, as a general rule, military courts do not judge civilians. If a soldier commits a criminal act as a citizen, he will be tried by an ordinary court of law.
In lined codes are a number of specific offenses: on national sovereignty, the security of the state , war crimes, crimes of espionage, army desertion, etc. Military Justice
Courts of this nature do not exist in all countries, as some nations consider that all citizens should be tried by the same courts regardless of their civil or military status.
Those who defend the existence of an institution independent of ordinary justice argue that military law is more effective than ordinary law to combat terrorist actions or to fight drug trafficking and organized crime.
The application of martial law and its application in the Philippines
In most Constitutions, it is indicated that in certain exceptional situations or national emergencies it is possible for the ordinary justice to transfer its powers to the military justice. When this happens, we speak of martial law and that its effective application depends on the military authorities. When martial law becomes effective, constitutional guarantees are temporarily suspended in order to restore normalcy and social order . Military Justice
In 2017, martial law was declared in some territories of the Philippines for the purpose of combating some jihadist movements. This exceptional situation is not without criticism, as some sectors of the Filipino opposition consider that the approval of this law could represent a threat to democracy.
