Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 801-946a), and in order to prescribe additions and amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, prescribed by Executive Order 12473 of April 13, 1984, as amended, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 . Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, are amended as described in the Annex attached to and made a part of this order. Sec. 2 . With this order, I hereby prescribe regulations for the randomized selection of qualified personnel as members of a court-martial to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant to section 543 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Public Law 117-263 (10 U.S.C. 825(e)(4)). Sec. 3 . Except as provided in sections 4 and 5 of this order, these amendments shall take effect on the date of this order, subject to the following: (a) Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the date of this order that was not punishable when committed or omitted. (b) Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the date of this order, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if these amendments had not been prescribed. Sec. 4 . The amendments to Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 908(c)(3), R.C.M. 1205(a), and R.C.M. 1209(a)(1) shall take effect on December 22, 2024, subject to the following: (a) Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the effective date that was not punishable when committed or omitted. (b) Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the effective date, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if these amendments had not been prescribed. Sec. 5 . The amendment to R.C.M. 503(a)(1) shall take effect on December 23, 2024, subject to the following: (a) Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the effective date that was not punishable when committed or omitted. (b) Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the effective date, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if this amendment had not been prescribed. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR. The White House, December 20, 2024.