Judge Advocate General (Canada)

Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Forces
Juge-avocat général des Forces canadiennes
Incumbent
Rob Holman
since June 28, 2023
Canadian Armed Forces
Department of National Defence
Reports toMinister of National Defence
AppointerGovernor in Council
on the Advice of the minister of national defence
Term lengthNo more than 4 years;
renewable
Websitewww.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/organizational-structure/judge-advocate-general.html

The judge advocate general of the Canadian Forces (JAG; French: juge-avocat général des Forces canadiennes) is the senior legal officer who superintends the administration of military justice in the Canadian Armed Forces, and provides legal advice on military matters to the governor general, the minister of national defence, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. The office is defined in section 9 of the National Defence Act.[1]

The 16th and current judge advocate general is Brigadier-General Rob Holman, since June 28, 2023.[2]

Office of the Judge Advocate General

The office consists of 159 regular force legal officer positions and 64 reserve force legal officer positions. Regular force legal officers are deployed as follows:

List of judge advocates general

  1. Major-General Henry Smith, 1911-1918[3]
  2. Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Mowat Biggar, 1918-1920[3]
  3. Brigadier Reginald John Orde, 1920-1950[3]
  4. Brigadier-General William J. Lawson, 1950-1969[3]
  5. Brigadier-General Harold A. McLearn, 1969-1972[3]
  6. Brigadier-General James M. Simpson, 1972-1976[3]
  7. Major-General John Patterson Wolfe, 1976-1982[3]
  8. Brigadier-General Frank Karwandy, 1982-1986[3]
  9. Brigadier-General Robert L. Martin, 1986-1990[3]
  10. Commodore Peter R. Partner, 1990-1993[3]
  11. Brigadier-General Pierre G. Boutet, 1993-1998[3]
  12. Major-General Jerry S.T. Pitzul, 1998-2006[3]
  13. Brigadier-General Ken Watkin, 2006-2010[3]
  14. Major-General B. Blaise Cathcart, 2010-2017[3]
  15. Rear-Admiral Geneviève Bernatchez, 2017-2023 [4]
  16. Brigadier-General Rob Holman, 2023- [2]

See also

United States

United Kingdom

References

  1. ^ Branch, Legislative Services (2019-08-01). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, National Defence Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  2. ^ a b Canada, Government of. "Biography of the Judge Advocate General". canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Major-General Henry Smith: The Royal Canadian Who Became JAG" (PDF). The Royal Canadian Regiment. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012.
  4. ^ Canada, Government of. "Orders In Council - Search". orders-in-council.canada.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-24.