Integrating Title 18 War Crimes into Title 10: A Proposal to Amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Abstract
Following reports of detainee abuse coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan, some U.S. military members have been tried and convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for their involvement. Despite the international and war-related character of these offenses, so far the allegations have been charged as common crimes under Title 10 (aggravated assault, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, murder) even though conduct of members of the U.S. armed forces that constitutes a "grave breach" of the Geneva Conventions can be prosecuted in U.S. civilian courts under Title 18. The War Crimes Act 4 of 1996 sought to implement the Geneva Conventions by criminalizing grave breaches of the Conventions and violations other laws of war and bringing these crimes into the federal criminal code. This Act expanded federal criminal jurisdiction over U.S. military members by providing the United States jurisdiction to try War Crimes Act violations in federal district court. As part of federal statutory law, the War Crimes Act may be incorporated and charged under the UCMJ. Article 134 of the UCMJ, the "general article," allows the military to import non-capital federal criminal statutes and charge them in a military court-martial. This broadens the subject matter of criminal offenses available to a court-martial. Not only are the punitive articles of the UCMJ6 available to the military prosecutor, any federal criminal statute that applies where the crime was committed could also be charged under the general article. This provision would generally allow military authorities to incorporate the War Crimes Act into military prosecutions and charge U.S. service members with certain war crimes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA435148
Entities
People
- Mynda G. Ohman
Organizations
- George Washington University