Military Courts of Kyrgyzstan

The Military Courts of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz: Кыргызстандын Аскердик соттор; Russian: Военные суды Кыргызстана) are courts that deal with criminal cases concerning military personnel. Most courts are located in military garrisons all over the country and have jurisdiction over all criminal cases about crimes committed by servicemen. There is no mention of military courts in the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan and organizations such as Crisis Group Asia argue that there has been some discussion of abolishing these courts and transferring their duties to local courts.[1][2] In December 2016, President Almazbek Atambayev signed a decree officially abolishing the use of military courts.[3][4] This was done due to a recommendation made by the Commission for the Reform of the Judicial System, which said that the state budget couldn't fund them anymore.[5] In late September 2016, Kyrgyz Parliamentarian Maksat Sabirov claimed that "military courts have not proven their effectiveness" and that even the court's chairman could not explain why the institution needed to be preserved.[6]