The Armed Forces Tribunal was inaugurated by Her Excellency the President of India on the 8th August 2009

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, was passed by the Parliament and led to the formation of AFT with the power provided for the adjudication or trial by Armed Forces Tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons subject to the Army Act, 1950, The Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force Act, 1950. It can further provide for appeals arising out of orders, findings or sentences of courts- martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Besides the Principal Bench in New Delhi, AFT has Regional Benches at Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Jabalpur, Srinagar and Jaipur. With the exception of the Chandigarh and Lucknow Regional Benches, which have three benches each, all other locations have a single bench. Each Bench comprises of a Judicial Member and an Administrative Member.

The Judicial Members are retired High Court Judges and Administrative Members are retired Members of the Armed Forces who have held rank of Major General/ equivalent or above for a period of three years or more, Judge Advocate General (JAG), who have held the appointment for at least one year are also entitled to be appointed as the Administrative Member.

The Tribunal shall transact their proceedings as per the Armed Forces Tribunal (Procedure) rules, 2008. All proceedings in the Tribunal will be in English. The Tribunal will normally follow the procedure as is practiced in the High Courts of India. The dress as mandated for the officials of the Tribunal including bar will be white shirt, collar band and a black coat/ jacket.