The Military Commissions Act of 2006: Analysis of Procedural Rules and Comparison with Previous DOD Rules and the Uniform Code of Military Justice

Abstract

On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Military Order (M.O.) pertaining to the detention, treatment, and trial of certain non-citizens in the war against terrorism. Military commissions pursuant to the M.O. began in November 2004 against four persons declared eligible for trial, but proceedings were suspended after a federal district court found that one of the defendants could not be tried under the rules established by the Department of Defense (DOD). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in Rumsfeld v. Hamdan, but the Supreme Court granted review and reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. To permit military commissions to go forward, Congress approved the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) (H.R. 6166/S. 3930), conferring authority to promulgate rules that depart from the strictures of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and possibly U.S. international obligations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 12, 2006
Accession Number
ADA480370

Entities

People

  • Jennifer K. Elsea

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Court Martial
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Geneva Conventions
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • Law
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Tribunals
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Prisoners Of War
  • Sexual Assault
  • Supreme Court
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Law

Readers

  • Criminal Law