Court - martial A court - martial ( plural courts - martial , as " martial " is postpositive ) is a military court . A court - martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law , and , if the defendant is found guilty , to decide upon punishment . Most militaries maintain a court - martial system to try cases in which a breach of military discipline may have occurred . Some countries , however , have no courts - martial in time of peace ; this is the case in France and Germany , for example , where ordinary , civilian courts are used instead . In addition , courts - martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crime s . The Geneva Convention requires that POW s who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding army ' s own soldiers . Most navies have a standard court - martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost ; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing , but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official record . Composition . Usually , a court - martial takes the form of a trial with a presiding judge , a prosecutor and defensive counsel ( all trained lawyers as well as officers ) and ( in some cases ) a panel of officers ( and sometimes enlisted personnel ) acting as jury . The precise format varies from one country to another and may also depend on the severity of the accusation . Jurisdiction . Courts martial have the authority to try a wide range of military offences , many of which closely resemble civilian crimes like fraud , theft or perjury . Others , like cowardice , desertion , and insubordination , are purely military crimes . Military offences are defined in the Armed Forces Act 2006 for members of the British Military . Regulations for the Canadian Forces are found in the Queen ' s Regulations and Orders as well as the National Defence Act . For members of the United States armed forces offenses are covered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) . These offences , as well as their corresponding punishments and instructions on how to conduct a court - martial , are explained in detail based on each country and / or service . By country . Canada . In Canada , there is a two - tier military trial system . Summary trials are presided over by superior officers , while more significant matters are heard by courts martial , which are presided over by independent military judges serving under the independent Office of the Chief Military Judge . Appeals are heard by the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada . Capital punishment in Canada was abolished generally in 1976 , and for military offences in 1998 . Harold Pringle was the last Canadian soldier executed , in 1945 , for a military offence . Germany . The Basic Law ( Grundgesetz ) ( adopted after the Second World War in 1949 ) establishes in Art . 96 para . 2 that courts - martial can be established by federal law . Such courts - martial would take action in a State of Defense ( Verteidigungsfall ) and only against soldiers abroad or at sea . However , no such law has been passed to date and German soldiers are tried exclusively before civil courts . India . There are four kinds of courts - martial in India . These are the General Court Martial ( GCM ) , District Court Martial ( DCM ) , Summary General Court Martial ( SGCM ) and Summary Court Martial ( SCM ) . According to the Army Act , army courts can try personnel for all kinds of offences except for murder and rape of a civilian , which are primarily tried by a civilian court of law . Netherlands . In the Netherlands members of the military are tried by a special military section of the civilian court in Arnhem . This section consists of a military member and two civilian judges . The decision whether or not to prosecute is primarily made by the ( civilian ) attorney general . United Kingdom . The Court Martial is one of the Military Courts of the United Kingdom . The Armed Forces Act 2006 establishes the Court Martial as a permanent standing court . Previously courts - martial were convened on an " ad hoc " basis . The Court Martial may try any offence against service law . The Court is made up of a Judge Advocate , and between three and seven ( depending on the seriousness of the offence ) officers and warrant officers . Rulings on matters of law are made by the Judge Advocate alone , whilst decisions on the facts are made by a majority of the members of the court , not including the Judge Advocate , and decisions on sentence by a majority of the court , this time including the Judge Advocate . United States . Most commonly , courts - martial in the United States are convened to try members of the U . S . military for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( UCMJ ) , which is the U . S . military ' s criminal code . However , they can also be convened for other purposes , including military tribunal s and the enforcement of martial law in an occupied territory . Courts - martial are governed by the rules of procedure and evidence laid out in the Manual for Courts - Martial , which contains the Rules for Courts - Martial , Military Rules of Evidence , and other guidance . There are three types : Special , Summary , and General .