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Status of forces agreement

January 26, 2023

A status of forces agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement. A SOFA does not constitute a security arrangement; it establishes the rights and privileges of foreign personnel present in a host country in support of the larger security arrangement.[1] Under international law a status of forces agreement differs from military occupation.

Agreements

While the United States military has the largest foreign presence and therefore accounts for most SOFAs, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Germany,[2] Italy, Russia, Spain, and many other nations also station military forces abroad and negotiate SOFAs with their host countries. In the past, the Soviet Union had SOFAs with most of its satellite states. While most of the United States' SOFAs are public, some remain classified.[3] NATO has its own procedure that stems from "a peacetime agreement originally signed in 1951" for SOFAs between member states.[4]

Terms of operation

A SOFA is intended to clarify the terms under which the foreign military is allowed to operate. Typically, purely military operational issues such as the locations of bases and access to facilities are covered by separate agreements. A SOFA is more concerned with the legal issues associated with military individuals and property. This may include issues such as entry and exit into the country, tax liabilities, postal services, or employment terms for host-country nationals, but the most contentious issues are civil and criminal jurisdiction over bases and personnel. For civil matters, SOFAs provide for how civil damages caused by the forces will be determined and paid. Criminal issues vary, but the typical provision in U.S. SOFAs is that U.S. courts will have jurisdiction over crimes committed either by a servicemember against another servicemember or by a servicemember as part of his or her military duty, but the host nation retains jurisdiction over other crimes.[5]

Host nation concerns

In many host nations, especially those with a large foreign military presence such as South Korea and Japan, the SOFA can become a major political issue following crimes allegedly committed by servicemembers. This is especially true when the incidents involve crimes such as robbery, murder, manslaughter or sex crimes, especially when the charge is defined differently in the two nations. For example, in 2002 in South Korea, a U.S. military AVLB bridge-laying vehicle on the way to the base camp after a training exercise accidentally killed two girls. Under the SOFA, a United States military court martial tried the soldiers involved. The panel found the act to be an accident and acquitted the service members of negligent homicide, citing no criminal intent or negligence. The U.S. military accepted responsibility for the incident and paid civil damages. This resulted in widespread outrage in South Korea, demands that the soldiers be retried in a South Korean court, the airing of a wide variety of conspiracy theories, and a backlash against the local expatriate community.[6] As of 2011, American military authorities are allowing South Korea to charge and prosecute American soldiers in South Korean courts. After three brutal rapes and an arson case in 2011, convictions in South Korean courts occurred. The soldiers are, or will soon be, jailed in South Korean facilities.[7][8] Soon after the rapes and other instances, the peninsula wide military curfew was reinstated.[9]

Criminal accusations against off-duty servicemembers are generally considered subject to local jurisdiction, depending on specific provisions of the SOFA. However, details of these provisions can still prompt issues. In Japan, for example, the SOFA includes the provision that service members are not turned over to the local authorities until they are charged in a court.[10] In a number of cases, local officials have complained that this impedes their ability to question suspects and investigate the crime. American officials allege that the Japanese police use coercive interrogation tactics and are concerned more with attaining a high conviction rate than finding "justice".[citation needed] American authorities also note the difference in police investigation powers, as well as the judiciary.[citation needed] No lawyer can be present in investigation discussions in Japan, though a translator is provided, and no mention made of an equivalent to America's Miranda rights.[citation needed] Another issue is the lack of jury trials in Japan, previous to 2009 all trials were decided by a judge or panel of judges. Currently, Japan uses a lay judge system in some criminal trials. For these reasons American authorities insist that service members be tried in military tribunals and reject article 98 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[11]

Political issues

The political issue of SOFAs is complicated by the fact that many host countries have mixed feelings about foreign bases on their soil, and demands to renegotiate the SOFA are often combined with calls for foreign troops to leave entirely. Issues of different national customs can arise – while the U.S. and host countries generally agree on what constitutes a crime, many U.S. observers[who?] feel that host country justice systems grant a much weaker set of protections to the accused than the U.S. and that the host country's courts can be subject to popular pressure to deliver a guilty verdict; furthermore, that American servicemembers ordered to a foreign posting should not be forced to give up the rights they are afforded under the Bill of Rights.[citation needed] On the other hand, host country observers,[who?] having no local counterpart to the Bill of Rights, often feel that this is an irrelevant excuse for demanding special treatment, and resembles the extraterritorial agreements demanded by Western countries during colonialism.[citation needed] One host country where such sentiment is widespread, South Korea, itself has forces in Kyrgyzstan and has negotiated a SOFA that confers total immunity to its servicemembers from prosecution by Kyrgyz authorities for any crime whatsoever, something far in excess of the privileges many South Koreans object to in their nation's SOFA with the United States.[12]

Visiting forces agreement

A visiting forces agreement is similar to a status of forces agreement except the former covers only forces temporarily in a country, not based there.

See also

References

  1. ^ R. Chuck Mason, Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One Be Utilized In Iraq?, March 15, 2012, Congressional Research Service.
  2. ^ FACT SHEET Status of Forces Agreement - March 04, 2009
  3. ^ Bruno, Greg (October 2, 2008), , Council on Foreign Relations, archived from the original on October 27, 2008
  4. ^ Jordan, Joseph L (20 September 2020). "NATO SOFA AGREEMENT: BETWEEN THE PARTIES TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY REGARDING THE STATUS OF THEIR FORCES". jordanucmjlaw.com.
  5. ^ Pike, John (2005). "Status of Forces Agreement". GlobalSecurity.org.
  6. ^ News articles on South Korean teenagers run over US military vehicle, ibiblio.org, 2002, retrieved 22 August 2008
  7. ^ Korea-based US soldier get 3 years in prison for rape conviction, Stars and Stripes, 2012, retrieved 12 February 2012
  8. ^ US soldier confesses during trial to rape of South Korean girl, Stars and Stripes, 2011, retrieved 12 February 2012
  9. ^ , Stars and Stripes, 2011, archived from the original on 1 August 2020, retrieved 12 February 2012
  10. ^ U.S.-Japan Status of forces Agreement, 19 January 1960 (Article XVII, Section 5c)
  11. ^ Giampiero Buonomo, L'impossibilità (giuridica) degli accordi bilaterali per sottrarsi alla giurisdizione, Diritto e giustizia online, 12/9/2002.
  12. ^ Scott Snyder (December 18, 2002), (PDF), PacNet, Center for Strategic International Studies (53A), archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2008, retrieved 5 May 2008

Further reading

  • Brakel, Yvonne S. "Developing Better US Status of Forces Protection in Africa." Armed Forces Law Review 76 (2016): 207+.
  • Mason, R. Chuck. Status of Forces Agreement: What Is It, and How Has it Been Utilized? (Congressional Research Service, 2009) online.
  • Sari, A. "The European Union Status of Forces Agreement (EU SOFA)", Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Vol. 13, pp. 353–391, 2008.
  • Schmitt, Glenn R. "Closing the Gap in Criminal Jurisdiction over Civilians Accompanying the Armed Forces Abroad – A First Person Account of the Creation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000," Catholic University Law Review (2002) vol 51#1 pp. 55–134. online
  • Voetelink, Joop (16 April 2015). Status of Forces: Criminal Jurisdiction over Military Personnel Abroad. Springer. ISBN 978-94-6265-057-2.

External links

  • "Backgrounder: ; A summary of U.S. foreign policy issues". United States Embassy, April 1996.
  • "; Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands". Joint Committee on Compact Economic Negotiations. (archived from the original on 2009-03-27)
  • "Status of Forces Agreements between Timor-Leste and Australia, New Zealand and Portugal" signed prior to the deployment of Operation Astute in East Timor in May 2006. This reference also includes SOFAs signed in 2002 between East Timor and the United Nations and between East Timor and the United States.
  • (archived from the original on 2005-06-07)
  • US-Japan Status of forces Agreement, 19 January, 1960
  • "AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE VI OF THE TREATY OF MUTUAL COOPERATION AND SECURITY BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, REGARDING FACILITIES AND AREAS AND THE STATUS OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN JAPAN" (PDF) (in English and Japanese). (Entered into force, June 23, 1960)
  • NATO Status of Forces Agreement, 19 June 1951
  • (archived from the original on 2010-05-27)
  • GIS AND KOREANS: THE MAKING OF THE FIRST ROK-US STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT, 1945–1966, Bo Ram Yi (2006)
  • "Special measures in effect 2001–2006". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

January 26, 2023
status, forces, agreement, status, forces, agreement, sofa, agreement, between, host, country, foreign, nation, stationing, military, forces, that, country, sofas, often, included, along, with, other, types, military, agreements, part, comprehensive, security,. A status of forces agreement SOFA is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country SOFAs are often included along with other types of military agreements as part of a comprehensive security arrangement A SOFA does not constitute a security arrangement it establishes the rights and privileges of foreign personnel present in a host country in support of the larger security arrangement 1 Under international law a status of forces agreement differs from military occupation Contents 1 Agreements 1 1 Terms of operation 1 2 Host nation concerns 1 3 Political issues 2 Visiting forces agreement 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksAgreements EditWhile the United States military has the largest foreign presence and therefore accounts for most SOFAs the United Kingdom France Australia Germany 2 Italy Russia Spain and many other nations also station military forces abroad and negotiate SOFAs with their host countries In the past the Soviet Union had SOFAs with most of its satellite states While most of the United States SOFAs are public some remain classified 3 NATO has its own procedure that stems from a peacetime agreement originally signed in 1951 for SOFAs between member states 4 Terms of operation Edit A SOFA is intended to clarify the terms under which the foreign military is allowed to operate Typically purely military operational issues such as the locations of bases and access to facilities are covered by separate agreements A SOFA is more concerned with the legal issues associated with military individuals and property This may include issues such as entry and exit into the country tax liabilities postal services or employment terms for host country nationals but the most contentious issues are civil and criminal jurisdiction over bases and personnel For civil matters SOFAs provide for how civil damages caused by the forces will be determined and paid Criminal issues vary but the typical provision in U S SOFAs is that U S courts will have jurisdiction over crimes committed either by a servicemember against another servicemember or by a servicemember as part of his or her military duty but the host nation retains jurisdiction over other crimes 5 Host nation concerns Edit In many host nations especially those with a large foreign military presence such as South Korea and Japan the SOFA can become a major political issue following crimes allegedly committed by servicemembers This is especially true when the incidents involve crimes such as robbery murder manslaughter or sex crimes especially when the charge is defined differently in the two nations For example in 2002 in South Korea a U S military AVLB bridge laying vehicle on the way to the base camp after a training exercise accidentally killed two girls Under the SOFA a United States military court martial tried the soldiers involved The panel found the act to be an accident and acquitted the service members of negligent homicide citing no criminal intent or negligence The U S military accepted responsibility for the incident and paid civil damages This resulted in widespread outrage in South Korea demands that the soldiers be retried in a South Korean court the airing of a wide variety of conspiracy theories and a backlash against the local expatriate community 6 As of 2011 update American military authorities are allowing South Korea to charge and prosecute American soldiers in South Korean courts After three brutal rapes and an arson case in 2011 convictions in South Korean courts occurred The soldiers are or will soon be jailed in South Korean facilities 7 8 Soon after the rapes and other instances the peninsula wide military curfew was reinstated 9 Criminal accusations against off duty servicemembers are generally considered subject to local jurisdiction depending on specific provisions of the SOFA However details of these provisions can still prompt issues In Japan for example the SOFA includes the provision that service members are not turned over to the local authorities until they are charged in a court 10 In a number of cases local officials have complained that this impedes their ability to question suspects and investigate the crime American officials allege that the Japanese police use coercive interrogation tactics and are concerned more with attaining a high conviction rate than finding justice citation needed American authorities also note the difference in police investigation powers as well as the judiciary citation needed No lawyer can be present in investigation discussions in Japan though a translator is provided and no mention made of an equivalent to America s Miranda rights citation needed Another issue is the lack of jury trials in Japan previous to 2009 all trials were decided by a judge or panel of judges Currently Japan uses a lay judge system in some criminal trials For these reasons American authorities insist that service members be tried in military tribunals and reject article 98 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 11 Political issues Edit The political issue of SOFAs is complicated by the fact that many host countries have mixed feelings about foreign bases on their soil and demands to renegotiate the SOFA are often combined with calls for foreign troops to leave entirely Issues of different national customs can arise while the U S and host countries generally agree on what constitutes a crime many U S observers who feel that host country justice systems grant a much weaker set of protections to the accused than the U S and that the host country s courts can be subject to popular pressure to deliver a guilty verdict furthermore that American servicemembers ordered to a foreign posting should not be forced to give up the rights they are afforded under the Bill of Rights citation needed On the other hand host country observers who having no local counterpart to the Bill of Rights often feel that this is an irrelevant excuse for demanding special treatment and resembles the extraterritorial agreements demanded by Western countries during colonialism citation needed One host country where such sentiment is widespread South Korea itself has forces in Kyrgyzstan and has negotiated a SOFA that confers total immunity to its servicemembers from prosecution by Kyrgyz authorities for any crime whatsoever something far in excess of the privileges many South Koreans object to in their nation s SOFA with the United States 12 Visiting forces agreement EditA visiting forces agreement is similar to a status of forces agreement except the former covers only forces temporarily in a country not based there See also EditU S Iraq Status of Forces Agreement U S Japan Status of Forces Agreement U S South Korea Status of Forces Agreement Visiting Forces Act Visiting forces agreement Extraterritoriality Article 98 agreementsReferences Edit R Chuck Mason Status of Forces Agreement SOFA What Is It and How Might One Be Utilized In Iraq March 15 2012 Congressional Research Service FACT SHEET Status of Forces Agreement March 04 2009 Bruno Greg October 2 2008 U S Security Agreements and Iraq Council on Foreign Relations archived from the original on October 27 2008 Jordan Joseph L 20 September 2020 NATO SOFA AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY REGARDING THE STATUS OF THEIR FORCES jordanucmjlaw com Pike John 2005 Status of Forces Agreement GlobalSecurity org News articles on South Korean teenagers run over US military vehicle ibiblio org 2002 retrieved 22 August 2008 Korea based US soldier get 3 years in prison for rape conviction Stars and Stripes 2012 retrieved 12 February 2012 US soldier confesses during trial to rape of South Korean girl Stars and Stripes 2011 retrieved 12 February 2012 Curfew put in place for all US troops in South Korea Stars and Stripes 2011 archived from the original on 1 August 2020 retrieved 12 February 2012 U S Japan Status of forces Agreement 19 January 1960 Article XVII Section 5c Giampiero Buonomo L impossibilita giuridica degli accordi bilaterali per sottrarsi alla giurisdizione Diritto e giustizia online 12 9 2002 Scott Snyder December 18 2002 A Call for Justice and the US ROK Alliance PDF PacNet Center for Strategic International Studies 53A archived from the original PDF on 15 May 2008 retrieved 5 May 2008Further reading EditBrakel Yvonne S Developing Better US Status of Forces Protection in Africa Armed Forces Law Review 76 2016 207 Mason R Chuck Status of Forces Agreement What Is It and How Has it Been Utilized Congressional Research Service 2009 online Sari A The European Union Status of Forces Agreement EU SOFA Journal of Conflict and Security Law Vol 13 pp 353 391 2008 Schmitt Glenn R Closing the Gap in Criminal Jurisdiction over Civilians Accompanying the Armed Forces Abroad A First Person Account of the Creation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 Catholic University Law Review 2002 vol 51 1 pp 55 134 online Voetelink Joop 16 April 2015 Status of Forces Criminal Jurisdiction over Military Personnel Abroad Springer ISBN 978 94 6265 057 2 External links Edit Backgrounder Status of Forces Agreement A summary of U S foreign policy issues United States Embassy April 1996 Status of Forces Agreement Concluded Pursuant to Section 323 of The Compact Of Free Association Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Joint Committee on Compact Economic Negotiations archived from the original on 2009 03 27 Status of Forces Agreements between Timor Leste and Australia New Zealand and Portugal signed prior to the deployment of Operation Astute in East Timor in May 2006 This reference also includes SOFAs signed in 2002 between East Timor and the United Nations and between East Timor and the United States US ROK Status of Forces Agreement archived from the original on 2005 06 07 US Japan Status of forces Agreement 19 January 1960 AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE VI OF THE TREATY OF MUTUAL COOPERATION AND SECURITY BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA REGARDING FACILITIES AND AREAS AND THE STATUS OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN JAPAN PDF in English and Japanese Entered into force June 23 1960 NATO Status of Forces Agreement 19 June 1951 White House Iraq Status of Forces Agreement archived from the original on 2010 05 27 GIS AND KOREANS THE MAKING OF THE FIRST ROK US STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT 1945 1966 Bo Ram Yi 2006 Special measures in effect 2001 2006 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Status of forces agreement amp oldid 1133904890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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