President Signed National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 Into Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 23, 2022
PRESS CONTACT:
Victoria Moore
President Signed National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 Into Law
Several provisions introduce changes to the military justice system
Washington D.C.: President Biden signed into law the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 on Friday December 23, 2022. Several provisions of this legislation introduce changes to the military justice system for which SWAN has advocated for over a decade. Taken together with the establishment of the Office of Special Trial Counsel in each Service Secretariat made by last year’s NDAA, the combined 2022 and 2023 NDAAs greatly reduce the role of defendants’ commanders in the conducting of Courts-Martial for military defendants accused of certain crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In accordance with last year’s bill, the decision to refer certain charges to Court-Martial will be made by the Special Trial Counsel instead of the defendant’s commander beginning in January 2024. And this year’s bill transfers additional duties from the defendant’s commander to the Special Trial Counsel. These include decisions on grants of immunity, the hiring of expert witnesses and the taking of depositions. Additionally, the defendant’s commander will no longer name the members of the court-martial panels––which function as a juries. Whenever possible, the panel members will be chosen randomly. These changes remove from commanders responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice which, at times, can conflict with their responsibilities for mission readiness. Commanders will retain the authority they need to maintain the good order and discipline of their units, but authority for adjudicating many felony-level crimes—including sexual assault––will transfer to the Special Trial Counsel.
SWAN salutes all the members of Congress who worked for years to pass this legislation and we are grateful to all the veterans and military service organizations and individuals who worked so patiently and persistently to bring about these changes.