Judge Advocate General

Former president Pratibha Patil gave her assent to the Armed Forces Tribunal Bill on December 25, 2007, paving the way for the setting up of the country's rst ever redressal forum to adjudicate exclusively on cases pertaining to armed forces personnel. The Supreme Court, while hearing the case of Lt Col P P Singh Bedi (1982), had emphasised the necessity for an independent appellate forum for the armed forces. In 1983, the service headquarters were asked to examine the need for the Constitution of a court-martial appeals court. The issue remained dormant and the government did not take any action for almost two decades. The Standing Committee on Defence (20th report) recommended to the Lok Sabha on August 19, 2003 that a special court of appeal, on the lines of those in France, Germany, Russia, Sweden and the UK, be constituted for the redressal of the grievances of service personnel. The need was re-emphasised by the Law Commission in its 169th report. Finally, on September 29, 2005, the cabinet approved the proposal from the ministry of defence (ministry) for setting up an Armed Forces Tribunal for adjudicating service matters and appeals against the verdicts of courts martial.

In May of 1995, a democracy building project between The Judge Advocate General of Ukraine and United States Army lawyers was completed in Kiev.  Over the course of this eight-month project, from September 1994 to May 1995, United States Army judge advocates from the International and Operational Law Division, Office of The Judge Advocate General, worked directly with Colonel Alexander Bokov, Chief, Legal Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in developing a legal training handbook for Ukrainian soldiers.


The handbook, entitled “Code of Conduct for Participants in Military Operations,” now serves as the primary training guide for instructing Ukrainian soldiers in the basics of law of war, human rights, and professional ethics.  With a standardized training handbook that is truly its own, a legal department trained to teach law of war and human rights, and an armed force that regularly receives such training, the Ukrainian armed forces now have a solid methodology for continuing the institutionalizing of the law of war and human rights.

The Kenneth J. Hodson Chair of Criminal Law was established at The Judge Advocate General’s School on June 24, 1971. The chair was named after Major General Hodson, who served as The Judge Advocate General from 1967 to 1971. General Hodson retired in 1971, but immediately was recalled to active duty to serve as the Chief Judge of the Army Court of Military Review. He served in that position until 1974. General Hodson served over thirty years on active duty. During that time, he was active in the American and Federal Bar Associations, and he authored much of the military justice legislation existing today. He was a member of the original staff and faculty of The Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia. When the Judge Advocate General’s Corps was activated as a regiment in 1986, General Hodson was selected as the Honorary Colonel of the Corps.

On March 28, 1991, Professor Schlueter delivered the twentieth Kenneth J. Hodson lecture. Professor Schlueter received his B.A. from Texas A&M University in 1969, his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1971, and an L.L.M from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1981. He served on active duty as a judge advocate from 1972 to 1981. Professor Schlueter is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve and is an individual mobilization augmentee to The Judge Advocate General’s School. He has published numerous books and law review articles on criminal law topics, and is currently the Reporter for the Federal Rules Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure. In addition, Professor Schlueter has held several prominent positions in professional legal organizations and currently is the Chairman of the ABA Standing Committee on Military Law.