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The Military Advocate General assists the Israel Defense Forces in imposing rules of conduct through legal advice, legal instruction, maintaining the mechanisms for military prosecution and legal defense, and fulfilling special legal tasks. It supervises, by exercizing the designated operative instruments and authority, over the rule of law in the IDF.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Structure 2.1 Chief Military Advocate General 2.2 Deputy Military Advocate General 2.3 Chief Military Prosecution 2.4 Chief Military Defense 2.5 Legal Supervision and Doctrine Branch 2.6 International Law Branch 2.7 Legislation and Consultancy Branch 2.8 Military Law School 3 Further reading

The principal activities of the Military Advocate General are:

• Maintaining prosecution and legal defense systems before the military tribunals.
• Providing military authorities with legal advice on military law and the law in general (including international law).
• Maintaining the military tribunal system in areas falling under the jurisdiction of the IDF.
• Supervision over the rules of conduct in the IDF.
• Supervision over the investigatory arms in the IDF, and over the military detention centres.
• Representing the IDF before public and institutional bodies.
• Teaching law and jurisprudence in the IDF and its values among soldiers and commanders.

The Military Advocate General consists of the following bodies:

Head of the service, currently Brigadier-General, Avichai Mendelblit. A member of the General Staff, but not professionally subordinate to the Chief of Staff.

Coordinates and directs the CMAG Command; serves as acting CMAG during the Chief's absence.

Headed by the Chief Military Prosecutor, it is responsible for criminal prosecution. The Chief Military Prosecutor has exclusive authority to submitt appeals to the Military Court of Appeals over rulings rendered by the District Military Tribunals.

Responsible for defending soldiers and officers before the military tribunals, during appeals to the Military Court of Appeals, and providing representation and legal advise to members of the military while they undergo an investigation.

Comprised of three departments: The Administrative Justice Dept. oversees administrative conduct and provides legal advise on areas related to administrative law. The Amnesty Dept. centralizes amnesty appeals to the President, provides legal opinion to the Chief of Staff as an authority confirming verdicts and sentences (including their reductions), provides legal advise to the Committee for erasing the criminal records of soldiers prior to their recruitment, handles prisoner releases in the framework of peace agreements, and treats appeals to the Supreme Court. The Supervisory Dept. attends to criticisms of MAG bodies, and coordinates its activities with investigatory entities outside the IDF.

This branch, headed by the CMAG Assistant for International Law, advises the service on areas related to international law (including the Palestinian territories).

This branch is responsible for legal counsultation and legislation pertaining to the military in areas unrelated to international law (or the Israeli-occupied territories).

The school is responsible for teaching law and jurisprudence, and for the training and professional advancement of MAG officers.

• Menachem Finkelstein and Yifat Tomer, "The Israeli military legal system," Air Force Law Review, Winter, 2002.

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