특별법원에 대한 헌법해석

A Study on Constitutional Interpretation of Special Court

&nbsp;&nbsp;The Korean Constitution prescribes military courts as special courts to exercise jurisdiction over military trials. The existing academic opinions understand special court as a extraordinary court. A extraordinary court means either court which the Supreme Court don&quot;t have the final appellate jurisdiction or court which military officers as its judges participate in. Therefore court-martial which is organized by military officer judges, is controled by the commanders of military units and is established by a military unit, is regarded as constitutional.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;I suggest that speciality of military court as a special court should be restricted to the extraordinary contexts as like wartime, for the constitutional duties of the armed forces in order to ensure national security and defense the land, and in case of crimes of soldiers and employees of the military. Because the Korean Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to be tried in conformity with the law by judges qualified under the Constitution and the law, declares the constitutional principles such as the division of powers and the independence of judiciary, and vests the Supreme Court with authority of the final appellate jurisdiction over courts-martial.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;In conclusion, court-martial should be abolished in normal times and be established exceptionally only in war time. If necessary, I think, military court may be organized as a specialized court.