The human rights committee and military trials of civilians: Madani v Algeria

The issue of military trials of civilians arose before the Human Rights Committee in the case of Madani v Algeria (1172/03).1 This note will examine the decision and its substantial contribution to the Committee’s jurisprudence on the right to a fair trial as set out in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR). The note begins with a brief outline of the complaints made and an analysis of the Committee’s decision, before moving on to consider the Committee’s approach to the trial of civilians by military courts.