Branch II
National Defense Council
Article (203)
National Defense Council shall be chaired by the President of the Republic and comprise the
membership of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minister of
Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Interior, the
Chief of the General Intelligence Service, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces as well as the
Commanders of the Navy, the Air Forces and Air Defense, the Chief of Operations of the Armed
Forces, and the Head of Military Intelligence.
The Council shall be competent to examine the matters pertaining to preserving the security and
integrity of the country, and to discuss the budget of the Armed Forces, which shall be included
in the State budget under one budget line. The opinion of the Council shall be obtained on the
bills concerning the Armed Forces.
Other competences of the Council shall be specified by Law.
Upon discussing the budget, the Head of the Financial Affairs Department of the Armed Forces
and the heads of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the National Security Committee at
the House of Representatives shall join the Council.
The President of the Republic may invite any person having relevant expertise to attend the
Council’s meetings without having the right to vote.
Branch III
Military Courts
Article (204)
The Military Court is an independent judicial body exclusively competent to adjudicate on all
crimes pertaining to the Armed Forces, the officers and personnel thereof, and their equivalents,
and on the crimes committed by the personnel of the General Intelligence while and by reason of
performing their duties.
No civilian shall face trial before the Military Court, except for crimes that constitute a direct
assault against military facilities or camps of the Armed Forces, or their equivalents, against
military zones or border zones determined as military zones, against the Armed Forces’
equipment, vehicles, weapons, ammunition, documents, military secrets, or its public funds, or
against military factories; crimes pertaining to military service; or crimes that constitute a direct
assault against the officers or personnel of the Armed Forces by reason of performing their
duties.
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