Competency for military arrest as a psychiatric problem

Military law does not invest doctors with the authority to determine whether a soldier is competent to enter military arrest. This determination is legal in nature. Therefore, medical (or psychiatric) examination which is carried out before or within military arrest or detention, is aimed at preventing deterioration in the health of the soldier in prison. Hence, medical opinion serves only as 'credentials' of sorts. This is the formal language of the military law. In reality, the examining psychiatrist has to consider many factors, bearing in mind that his conclusions will probably become a prominent basis for the final decision of the military legal officer (whether to enforce military arrest). In order to illustrate the complicated considerations which are set forth before military psychiatrists, several case reports are presented of soldiers, who were examined in the Israel Defence Forces central psychiatric clinic for the determination of competency for military arrest.