ABSTRACT
The goal for all countries should be to subordinate their military justice systems to civilian authorities. This chapter presents in-depth case studies of Portugal and Colombia to illustrate how countries accomplish this important objective. Portugal illustrates the shifts in military legal subordination that accompany the military seizing power and major democratic transitions. Its stable system of full subordination since the transition is explained by a strong domestic judiciary and an absence of security threats. Colombia is a prominent example of a security threat driving decisions over military justice. As the state fought a bloody civil war for over 50 years, the government, supported by much of the population, empowered the military to use whatever means necessary to end the conflict. A combination of factors for reform coalesced and overcame this security threat. Despite the conflict worsening, Colombia shifted into jurisdictional contestation and then eventually the full subordination category with the help of pressure from domestic and international human rights organizations, international court rulings, a shift in public opinion following major human rights violations attributed to the military, and a strong domestic judiciary stemming from a critical juncture in Colombian politics that led to a new constitution.
