A detailed policy review has now been completed by the Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) to address the Auditor General’s observations in the 2018 spring report, including court martial delay, inadequate communication between military justice actors, timing of disclosure to an accused person, and the proper documentation of decisions taken by prosecutors.

The revised policies include the following changes:

• Improved documentation of all prosecutorial decisions at all stages of the court martial process;
• Improved efficiencies when determining whether a charge should be preferred;
• Enhanced clarity on who has final disposition authority in cases, and the documenting of all prosecutorial decisions by the proper authority;
• Improved disclosure processes so that all accused members are provided with disclosure in a more timely manner;
• Enhanced communication between prosecutors and investigators at all stages of the court martial process;
• A new process to determine the length of time that prosecutors take to conduct post-charges reviews; and
• The creation of a new policy on the scheduling of courts martial that sets out specific timeframes for cases to be scheduled in a more timely manner.

For more information, visit the Legal Policies and Directives webpage.