Judge Advocate

Judge Advocates are the professional judicial officers of the UK's Service Courts, presiding over courts martial alongside a lay military panel and directing that panel on the law while it decides the facts. According to the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, Judge Advocates 'also preside over the Summary Appeal Court' and the Service Civilian Court — meaning their role extends beyond courts martial into the appellate route from summary hearings and into proceedings involving civilians subject to service jurisdiction overseas.

The senior Judge Advocate is the Judge Advocate General (JAG), who occupies an unusually independent position within the judiciary: the JAG 'is not supervised by any other judge and he does not come under the authority of any Presiding Judge.' The office's duties include supervising the Service Courts as a whole, issuing sentencing guidelines and practice directions for military justice, allocating judges to particular trials, and representing the UK's military justice system internationally, working alongside the Ministry of Defence and the Service Prosecuting Authority through a small private office.

Judge Advocates are civilians rather than serving military officers, appointed on merit through the same independent Judicial Appointments Commission process used for other judicial posts, though some have previous military service. This civilian, independently-appointed status is central to the constitutional legitimacy of the modern court martial system, which was substantially reformed to ensure Convention-compliant independence from the chain of command after successful human rights challenges to the earlier system.