Law360 Canada (April 26, 2024, 12:56 PM EDT) -- Appeals by Appellants from judgments of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (CMAC) which set aside stays of proceedings, ordered trials to proceed and dismissed cross-appeals. The appellants were members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were charged with service offenses. They filed applications in the Court Martial for a stay of proceedings on the basis that their constitutional right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal guaranteed by s. 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) was infringed because the judges presiding over the trials were required to be officers. In different decisions, military judges concluded that there was an infringement of an accused’s right guaranteed by s. 11(d) of the Charter because they lacked judicial independence by reason of their dual status of judge and officer. The CMAC ruled that the Code of Service Discipline (CSD) applied to military judges and no informed person would conclude that there was an apprehension of bias or that the independence of courts martial was compromised. The stays of proceedings were lifted. The appellants argued that requiring judges to be officers was not compatible with judicial independence. The Crown argued that the status of military judges as officers did not violate the provision....