E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.2 page 13 61. The President of the CSJM reported that since August 1992, the military courts have tried 1,628 civilians, with the following results: Sentenced to life imprisonment 370 persons to 30 years' imprisonment 123 persons to 25 years 81 persons to 20 years 95 persons to 15 years 38 persons Total sentenced Acquitted 707 persons 39 persons Referred to the civil courts 315 persons Still on trial in the military courts 567 persons 62. Although neither the Universal Declaration of Human Rights nor the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits military justice from trying cases in which the accused or the victims are civilians, the practice in many countries, as the Working Group has verified, has shown that this often tends to be a source of injustice, particularly with regard to impunity for human rights violations, 7 and the cause of arbitrary detentions, which are of particular concern to the Working Group. 63. The Group asked the President of the CSJM whether or not military personnel who act as judges are still subject to the chain of command. He said that military personnel in the system of military justice are outside the military chain of command. However, all the lawyers questioned indicated that the opposite is true. 64. Legislative Decree No. 895 of 1998 gave military courts jurisdiction over ordinary offences committed by armed groups. 2. Measures to protect judges 65. Act No. 25.475 on “faceless judges”, applicable to ordinary courts, was improperly applied to military courts. It provided that the identity of judges, members of the Office of the Public Prosecutor and auxiliary staff should be kept secret at all stages of a trial. Decisions would not be signed, but the judges' identification codes would be recorded. Voicedistorting microphones and image distorters were installed. The Act was due to expire on 14 October 1995, but was extended, expiring on 14 October 1997. Although the Act has, wisely, been repealed, the Group is obliged to analyse it, as many of the prisoners whose cases are under consideration were tried under it. Since the withdrawal of anonymity, the Permanent Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court is now the last resort for persons accused of terrorist offences.