The legal system of the armed forces is evolving and moving towards civilianization, as the Armed Forces Tribunal completes five years of its existence. The laws governing the armed forces are of concern not just to members of the armed forces, but to every Indian. Thus, it is necessary for these laws to be understood and analysed by the legal fraternity, human rights activists, and military and government officials in the correct perspective in order to improve the system. A 'just' and 'fair' system is of great significance to the success or failure of the armed forces. This is the first attempt to deal with the laws relating to the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard in one volume. The basic statutes of these forces as well as the subordinate legislations have been comprehensively analysed. Using famous cases relating to the armed forces, this book examines constitutional and statutory rights and privileges, administrative and minor punishments, step-by-step court martial process, review and revision of punishments, procedure of courts of inquiry, and the jurisdiction and functioning of the Armed Forces Tribunal. It provides an overview of the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to members of the armed forces. In addition, it analyses the Criminal Court and Court Martial (Adjustment of Jurisdiction) Rules and the provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in detail.

Wing Commander Dr U C Jha is an independent researcher. He has an extensive academic experience in the fields of military law, international humanitarian law and human rights laws. He has been teaching these subjects for more than a decade and is a resource person for the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi. He has served in the Indian Air Force for 24 years. He obtained a Ph D degree in Law and Governance from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where his dissertation was on the Indian Military Justice System. He also holds master's degree in law, life sciences, business administration, and defence and strategic studies; with post-graduate diplomas in environmental laws, intellectual property laws, and international humanitarian law, refugee law and human rights laws. This is his twelfth book.