Somalia: 1) Information on the relationship between the Somali Military Court and the Somali Security Court. 2) Legislation related to the creation and structure of the Military court

1) According to a National Academy of Sciences' publication, the National Security Court is a military tribunal which hears political cases (Scientist and Human Rights in Somalia 1988, 17). In a book series entitled A Country Study, Jean Tartter indicates that the National Security Court was under the direct control of the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) and that the court:

... had competence over serious offenses affecting the security of the state including offenses against public order and tranquillity and crimes by public officials and members of the government (1982, 197).

This tribunal, independent of the judiciary, was established in 1970 and is run by members of the military and security forces (Scientist and Human Rights in Somalia 1988, 17). These members were trained at a military and political orientation centre in Mogadishu and, according to the National Academy of Sciences' publication, have little or no training in legal matters (Ibid.). Quoting Amnesty International, the publication Scientist and Human Rights in Somalia indicates that:

legal representation is permitted but most legal safeguards for defendants being in civil courts are absent. Defendants normally receive a summary trial and, although they have no right of appeal, the President must review the sentences. In the past, review of sentences and actual execution have been carried out very quickly after the sentence has been announced (Ibid.).

Jean Tartter corroborates the information that the court was presided over by military officers (1982, 197). Tartter further reports that this court was composed of three members: an officer of the SRC, who acted as president of the body, and two other judges, generally military officers (Tartter 1982, 197). The National Academy of Sciences' publication mentions that, as of 1988, the president of the court was the Minister of Marine Transport and Posts, Gen. Mohamed Ghelle Yusuf, who has had no formal legal training (Ibid.).

According to Tartter, decisions made by the National Security Court could not be appealed (1982, 196). Instead, appeals could be heard only by the SRC and, adds Tartter, no other court could review its sentences (Tartter 1982, 197).

The National Security Court is outside the ordinary legal system and the author underlines the fact that this court was regarded as a political instrument (Tartter 1982, 197). The court heard a broad range of cases, passing sentences for embezzlement by public officials, murder, tribalism, political activities against scientific socialism, and stealing government food stocks (Tartter 1982, 197).

Similar courts were also organized into regional and district sections in which a special military attorney general served as prosecutor (Tartter 1982, 197). It was widely believed that former President Mohamed Siad Barre determined which cases would be brought before the National Security Court and that he personally cleared sentences imposed by it (Tartter 1982, 197).

The Indian Ocean Newsletter reported that the Council of Ministers, headed by former President Mohamed Siad Barre, had decided to apply a new constitution "temporarily" (Oct. 1990, 6). After this decree was passed, the National Security Court was dissolved and its function transferred to the ordinary courts (Ibid.).

According to a professor of History and specialist on Somalia at Rutgers University, in Newark, New Jersey, contacted on 7 May 1991, both the Military Court and the Security Court were an arm of the regime. This source mentions that these two judicial bodies were under the control of President Siad Barre and the military. The Security Court dealt with proceedings against the civilian population, especially in the north. This professor further adds that, in practice, the Military Court and the Security Court were allegedly used by the government to carry out what might be deemed as repressive policies.

A specialist on Somalia at the Université de Pau in France, contacted on 7 May 1991, indicates that there is an important difference between the theory and practice in the legal capacity of the Military Court and the Security Court, especially in the northern part of the country. In this region, in theory, the competence of these two judicial organizations is distinct. In practice, however, their jurisdictions overlap and, as a result, were often used by former President Siad Barre as one single repressive instrument. Since the State of Emergency was imposed in the north during the 1980s, the Somali Army was present and was controlling the area. As a result, the Military Court, which was often followed the troops during the operations, took over the jurisdictions of the Security Court.

According to this source, one could be faced with a situation where a rebel or a civilian might have been judged by the Military Court and the sentence applied by the Security Court, or vice versa. This source further reported that when a nomad was captured he/she was executed on the spot without the right to a fair trial. Therefore, it would not change the fate of this person whether it had been the Military or the Security Court which would have put him/her on trial. Any judicial procedures were rendered obsolete.

The source at the Université de Pau in France adds that when the rebellion extended to the south, the confusion in the practices and activities of those two Courts increased a great deal.

Further information is currently unavailable to the IRBDC in Ottawa.

 2) Please find the information on the National Security Law (Law No. 3 of 10 January 1970) in the publication entitled Somalia: Country Profile, pp. 21-24; and Somalia: A Long-Term Human Rights Crisis, pp. 3-4.

Attachments

The Indian Ocean Newsletter, "Somalia: Siad Barre's Multi-Party Decree", 20 October, 1990, p. 6.

Somalia: Country Profile, Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, March 1990, pp. 21-24.

Amnesty International, ,Somalia: A Long-Term Human Rights Crisis, Amnesty International Publications, September 1988, pp. 3-4.

Bibliography

Scientist and Human Rights in Somalia. 1988. "Report of a Delegation", National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Human Rights Institute of Medicine, Committee on Health and Human Rights, Washington: National Academy Press.

Tartter, Jean, "Government and Politics", in "Somalia", A Country Study, Foreign Area Study, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1982.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter, "Somalia: Siad Barre's Multi-Party Decree", 20 October, 1990.

Somalia: Country Profile. March 1990. Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

Amnesty International, Somalia: A Long-Term Human Rights Crisis, Amnesty International Publications, September 1988.