United States military commission

E60835

The United States military commission was a wartime military tribunal system used by the U.S. armed forces to try individuals, including enemy commanders, for alleged violations of the laws of war.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf military tribunal
war crimes court
administeredBy United States Department of Defense
United States armed forces
appliesToJurisdiction United States armed forces
authorizedBy President of the United States
U.S. Congress
controversy criticized for admissibility of coerced or hearsay evidence (historically)
criticized for due process concerns
debate over compliance with Geneva Conventions
country United States
distinguishedFrom United States court-martial system
United States federal civilian courts
hasNotableUseCase Guantánamo Bay detainee trials after 2001
post–World War II war crimes trials in the Pacific
trial of Nazi saboteurs in Ex parte Quirin (1942)
legalBasis Articles of War (historical U.S. military law)
U.S. Constitution war powers (interpreted)
customary international humanitarian law
laws of war
locationOfProceedings Guantánamo Bay Naval Base
various U.S. military theaters of war
proceduralCharacteristics limited rights of appeal compared to civilian courts
military officers serve as members (fact-finders)
rules of evidence differ from civilian courts
purpose adjudicate offenses triable by the law of war
prosecute enemy combatants
prosecute enemy commanders
try individuals for alleged violations of the laws of war
reformedBy Military Commissions Act of 2006
Military Commissions Act of 2009
relatedConcept enemy combatant
international humanitarian law
law of armed conflict
military justice system of the United States
war crimes
subjectOf Boumediene v. Bush (U.S. Supreme Court case)
Ex parte Quirin (U.S. Supreme Court case)
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (U.S. Supreme Court case)
timePeriod used in multiple U.S. wars from 19th to 21st century
typicalDefendants enemy belligerents
enemy commanders
non-U.S. nationals captured in armed conflict
usedInConflict American Civil War
War on Terror
World War II

Referenced by (16)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Erich Mueller ("United States military tribunal")
Ewald Loeser ("United States military tribunal")
Friedrich Janssen ("United States military tribunal")
Wilhelm List ("United States military tribunal")
wasTriedBy
David Herold
Edman Spangler
Yamashita Tomoyuki
trialHeldBy
IG Farben ("United States military tribunal")
Michael O'Laughlen
Samuel Arnold
triedBy
Mary Surratt
Tomoyuki Yamashita
convictedBy
Flick Trial ("United States military tribunal")
conductedBy
George Atzerodt
trialBy
RuSHA Trial ("U.S. Military Tribunal")
tribunalType
GTMO ("U.S. military commissions system")
usedBy

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