The purpose of this study is to investigate the sentencing practice of the military
courts. Since an independent and impartial military judiciary is essential to
ensure that justice is done a further aim of this study is to investigate whether the
military courts are impartial, independent and affords the accused his fair trial
rights. The sentences imposed by military courts are investigated and concerns
regarding the imposition of these sentences are identified. Finally the appeal and
review procedures followed by the military courts are investigated with specific
reference to the military accused’s right appeal and review to a higher court as
provided for by the Constitution. The sentencing phase of a trial forms an
important part of the whole trial process. This is also true for military trials, yet no
research has been done on military sentencing practice. Because of the
potential influence of the draft Military Discipline Bill and the Law Reform
Commission’s revision of the defence legislation on sentencing, research in this
area is critical in the positive development of sentencing law in the military justice
environment. An extensive literature study is undertaken to evaluate current
military sentencing practices against civilian practices. The result of this study
identifies certain concerns regarding the independence of the military courts, the
treatment of military offenders and the appeal and review powers of the military
reviewing authority. To a large extent it is also found that many concerns are
based on the apparent rather than the existence of any real dangers to the
independence of the military courts or the rights of the military accused. This
thesis contributes to the accessibility of military law for a civilian audience,
creating a platform for the development of future military sentences. / Jurisprudence / LL. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/5969 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Nel, Michelle (Military lawyer) |
| Contributors | Terblanche, S. S. (Stephanus Salomon), 1959- |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (556 pages), application/pdf |
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