UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE
Until 1951, the various branches of our armed
forces operated under different military codes. The
Armys Articles of War guided the administration of
discipline and legal processes of the Army and Air
Force. The Navy was guided by the Articles for the
Government of the Navy (Rocks and Shoals), and the
Coast Guard, by the Disciplinary Laws of the Coast
Guard. Not surprisingly, an act considered an offense in
the eyes of the Navy might not have been judged so in
the Army. Even if an act was a breach of discipline in all
branches of the armed forces, the type of trial and
severity of punishment awarded varied.
A standardized code of military justice was
recognized as a logical and necessary unification
measure. Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal,
appointed an interservice committee to study the
measure. After an intensive study, the committee
drafted what is now known as the Uniform Code of
Military Justice (UCMJ). The UCMJ was passed by
Congress on 5 May 1950, signed into law by the
President, and became effective 31 May 1951.
The Manual for Courts-Martial, United States,
1951 (MCM), consolidated and standardized military
legal procedures. Effective 31 May 1951, the same date
as the original UCMJ, the MCM became the new
standard of military justice. Case decisions of the Court
of Military Appeals and changes in courts-martial
procedures have made necessary several changes to the
original manual. The current edition is the Manual for
Courts-Martial, 1995 Edition.
Congress and the Navy have taken steps to ensure
you will know the disciplinary laws and regulations
most likely to affect your daily life. Article 137 of the
UCMJ states that certain articles of the Code must be
explained carefully to every enlisted person at certain
intervals. They must be explained
at the time the person enters on active duty,
after 6 months of active duty, and
when the person reenlists.
In general, these articles concern the following
topics:
Navy Regulations supplements article 137 of the
UCMJ by requiring each command to post the text of
those articles in the preceding list in a conspicuous
place. Navy Regs also requires each command to
include these and other appropriate articles of Navy
Regulations in the commands training and education
program. Copies of the complete UCMJ (140 articles),
Navy Regulations, and other general orders are
available to any person who wants to read them.
Excerpts from the Uniform Code of Military
Justice
The purpose of this section is not to make you an
expert on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
but to give you an overview of each of the articles
2-15
Student Notes:
Article
Subject
2
Persons subject to the Code
3
Jurisdiction to try certain persons even
though they have been separated from
the service
7-14
Apprehension and restraint
15
Nonjudicial punishment (captains
mast)
25
Membership of courts-martial
27
Detail of trial and defense counsel
31
Compulsory self-incrimination
prohibited
37
Unlawful influence on the court
38
Duties of counsel
55
Certain cruel and unusual punishments
prohibited
77-134
Punitive articles
137
Articles that must be explained
138
Complaints of wrongs
139
Payment for injury or loss of property