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A four-member delegation led by Judge Advocate General (JAG) of US Army, Lt Gen Dana K Chipman visited Institute of Military Law (IML) at Kamptee, Nagpur. Maj Gen P S Rathore, JAG of Indian Army accompanied them. UA Army JAG visit intends to interact with JAG branch/legal officers of the Indian armed forces and share ideas, lessons learned and discuss training-related exchanges between the two countries. IML, a premier institution of Ministry of Defence, imparts training to officers of legal departments of Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, BSF and also officers of various friendly foreign countries in the field of military and allied laws.

Lt Gen Chipman said, "Training at IML is very impressive because of the range of different themes and legal aspects taught here. The teaching out-put and the outreach is excellent." Commenting on the Indian military judicial system, he said "It has far more similarities with our judicial system in terms of commitment to justice, maintenance of good order and discipline, up keep of rights of accused and principles of natural justice." The US delegation's visit concludes tomorrow.

Institute of Military Law (IML) was conceived in 1985 and was established in 1990 at the serene and salubrious surroundings of Kamptee Cantonment, near Nagpur. The institute has developed an infrastructure to run the basic, middle and higher level law courses for officers. In one decade of its existence, the institute has imparted training in the field of military and allied laws to over 1400 Army officers.

The integrated curriculum of the courses include, besides military law, all relevant subjects like international humanitarian law, human rights, environmental law, constitutional law and law relating to women and internal security duties.


The training syllabi for all the courses include a visit to the Central Prison and the State Forensic Laboratory at Nagpur. The student officers are familiarised with the correctional aspects of imprisonment and the technicalities of forensic examination in detection and investigation of crime. Training is also imparted to discharge command functions effectively while investigating any offence and administering justice to the Army personnel.

A capsule course of human rights also forms a part of all training curriculum at the institute. IML also conducts seminars and symposia on international humanitarian laws and human rights to dispel any false propaganda about allegations against defence personnel. Eminent jurists and personalities interact and discuss the relevance and fairness of the prevalent judicial system in the Army.

Since 1996, it publishes Military Law Journal (MLJ), a biannual journal containing a compilation of the latest High Court and Supreme Court rulings in matters concerning the Armed Forces. It also contains articles on contemporary subject of law.

On January 20, 2000, Ia Legal Aid Cell by Lt Gen HB Kala, GOC-in-C, ARTRAC was created to provide legal assistance to serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families in matters concerning realisation of their rights.