Subchapter V · Composition of Courts-Martial
Article 23. Who may convene special courts-martial
2024 Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
Recent revisions Summary of changes Cited by (6)(a) Special courts-martial may be convened by—
(1) any person who may convene a general court-martial;
(2) the commanding officer of a district, garrison, fort, camp, station, Air Force or Space Force military installation, auxiliary air field, or other place where members of the Army, the Air Force, or the Space Force are on duty;
(3) the commanding officer of a brigade, regiment, detached battalion, or corresponding unit of the Army;
(4) the commanding officer of a wing, group, or separate squadron of the Air Force or a corresponding unit of the Space Force;
(5) the commanding officer of any naval or Coast Guard vessel, shipyard, base, or station; the commanding officer of any Marine brigade, regiment, detached battalion, or corresponding unit; the commanding officer of any Marine barracks, wing, group, separate squadron, station, base, auxiliary air field, or other place where members of the Marine Corps are on duty;
(6) the commanding officer of any separate or detached command or group of detached units of any of the armed forces placed under a single commander for this purpose; or
(7) the commanding officer or officer in charge of any other command when empowered by the Secretary concerned.
(b)
(1) If any such officer is an accuser, the court shall be convened by superior competent authority, and may in any case be convened by such authority if considered advisable by him.
(2) A commanding officer shall not be considered an accuser solely due to the role of the commanding officer in convening a special court-martial to which charges and specifications were referred by a special trial counsel in accordance with this chapter.
Cross-referencesCited by 6
Cited by
Provisions elsewhere in the Manual whose text cites Article 23. Each link opens the citing provision.
Rules for Courts-Martial
…were referred by a special trial counsel pursuant to Article 22(b) for general courts-martial or Article 23(b) for special courts-martial, as amended by Section 534 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal…
…the convening authority of a general or special court-martial to which the charges are later referred. See Articles 22(b), 23(b), and 24a(c)(2)(A); R.C.M. 601; but see R.C.M. 1302(b) (summary court-martial convening authority is not disqualified by being…
Discussion under R.C.M. 404(4) — Action by commander exercising special court-martial jurisdiction
See Article 23 and R.C.M. 504(b)(2) concerning who may convene special courts-martial. See R.C.M. 601 concerning referral…
…competent authority, special courts-martial may be convened by persons occupying positions designated in Article 23(a) and by commanders designated by the Secretary concerned.
R.C.M. 504(b)(2)(A) — Convening courts-martial
Definition. For purposes of Articles 23 and 24, a command or unit is “separate or detached” when isolated or removed from the immediate disciplinary…
Uniform Code of Military Justice
Art. 6(b)(2) — Judge advocates and legal officers
…title) and all commanders authorized to convene courts-martial under sections 822 through 824 of this title (articles 22 through 24). The qualifications of judge advocates assigned to provide legal advice to commanders under this paragraph…