78
subparagraph a) of the Code of Military Justice,272 it can be inferred that “[t]he military
courts will hear of the crimes against military discipline, […] and said category includes the
crime[s] of common or federal order, when they are committed by soldiers, in the exercise
of their duties.” Finally, it stated that given that the fact that had probably been committed
by Mr. Quiroz Hermosillo was that of illegal deprivation of freedom in its modality of
plagiarism or kidnapping, established and punished by the “[C]riminal Code for the District
and Federal Territories in Common Matters and for the entire Republic in Matters of the
Federal Jurisdiction, in force at the time of the commission of the criminal event,” said crime
was considered contrary to military discipline, thus it was “[a]n exclusive power of the
military justice to hear and decide upon this matter.273”
272. The Tribunal considers it appropriate to state that it has repeatedly established that
the military criminal jurisdiction in democratic states, in times of peace, has tended to be
reduced and has even disappeared, reason for which, if a State conserves it, its use shall be
minimum, as strictly necessary, and shall be inspired on the principles and guarantees that
govern modern criminal law. In a democratic State of law, the military criminal jurisdiction
shall have a restrictive and exceptional scope and be directed toward the protection of
special juridical interests, related to the tasks characteristic of the military forces. Therefore,
the Tribunal has previously stated that only active soldiers shall be prosecuted within the
military jurisdiction for the commission of crimes or offenses that based on their own nature
threaten the juridical rights of the military order itself.274
273. Likewise, this Court has established that, taking into account the nature of the crime
and the juridical right damaged, military criminal jurisdiction is not the competent
over people that do not belong to the army. When a civilian is involved in a crime or offense of a military
nature, the corresponding civil authority will hear the case.
Cf. Political Constitution of the United Stated of Mexico (dossier of appendixes to the respondent’s plea, appendix
III(6), page 8).
272
The Code of Military Justice states, in its relevant parts, that:
Article 57.- The crimes against military discipline are:
[…]
II.- those of the common or federal order, when any of the following circumstances are present in
their commission:
a).- That they be committed by soldiers during times of duty or based on the actions of the
same;
[…]
Cf. Code of Military Justice published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on August 31, 1933, text in force
(http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/4.pdf).
273
Cf. Judgment of the First Collegiate Court in Criminal and Administrative Matters of the Twenty-First
Circuit in the Conflict Regarding Criminal Jurisdiction 6/2005 of October 27, 2005 (dossier of appendixes to the
brief of pleadings and motions, appendix G(6), folios 2128, 2129, and 2135).
274
Cf. Case of Castillo Petruzzi et al. v. Peru, supra note 54, para. 128; Case of Durand and Ugarte v. Peru.
Merits. Judgment of August 16, 2000. Series C No. 68, para. 117; Case of Cantoral Benavides v. Peru. Merits.
Judgment of August 18, 2000. Series C No. 69, para. 112; Case of Las Palmeras v. Colombia. Merits. Judgment of
December 6, 2001. Series C No. 90, para. 51; Case of 19 Tradesmen v. Colombia. Merits, Reparations, and Costs.
Judgment of July 5, 2004. Series C No. 109, para. 165; Case of Lori Berenson Mejía v. Peru, supra note 54, para.
142; Case of the Mapiripán Massacre v. Colombia, supra note 129, para. 202; Case of Palamara Iribarne v. Chile.
Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 22, 2005. Series C No 135, paras. 124 and 132; Case of
the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia, supra note 133, para. 189; Case of Almonacid Arellano et al. v. Chile, supra
note 19, para. 131; Case of La Cantuta v. Peru, supra note 51, para. 142; Case of the Massacre of La Rochela v.
Colombia, supra note 83, para. 200; Case of Escué Zapata v. Colombia, supra note 56, para. 105, and Case of Tiu
Tojín v. Guatemala, supra note 24, para. 118.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents