Military law lexicon / by Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar and Kush Chaturvedi

In the present times, awareness about defence related strategic issues has increased manifold. More than ever before, the public at large seeks to be abreast of matters concerning defence. Just as interest in military law has been on the rise, similarly growing desire to understand laws in their various contexts is clearly visible. However, a lack of comprehending the unique military. legal system impedes the study of military matters. Particular words, which are commonly used, often acquire a specific meaning in military law parlance. Moreover, there are certain terms which are unique to military law which should be properly understood.

The authors have tried here to rectify the lacunae by bringing out a lexicon of military legal terms which they hope will be a first step for understanding military terms which a majority of the public is not familiar with. It is an endeavour to assimilate a comprehensive list of terms which are frequently used in military legal publications. For a fuller comprehension, the terms have been explained by a combination of means i.e., sometimes by their dictionary meaning or by statutory definitions and at places by a combination of both. While the basic focus is on an understanding of words and terms as relevant under Indian statutory laws, for greater relevance, terms of foreign usage have also been included. The addition of law maxims relevant to the subject and an alphabetical catalogue of abbreviations have been incorporated for easy reference.

As no such publication is currently available, we hope that this work will clear the misty and sometimes incomprehensible military legal literature for the uninitiated and will be a useful aid to Military law practitioners, students, law enforcement officials, security experts, media personnel, court officials, together with members of the public who seek to educate themselves about this specialised field.