Public Law 81-506


 * Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
 * a Uniform Code of Military Justice for the government of the armed forces of the United States, unifying, consolidating, revising, and codifying the Articles of War, the Articles for the Government of the Navy, and the disciplinary laws of the Coast Guard, is hereby enacted as follows, and the articles in this section may be cited as ``Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article    ´´.

Separability.

 * If any article or part thereof, as set out in section 1 of this Act, shall be held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected thereby.


 * No inference of a legislative construction is to be drawn by reason of the part in which any article is placed nor by reason of the catch lines of the part or the article as set out in section 1 of this Act.


 * All offenses committed and all penalties, forfeitures, fines, or liabilities incurred prior to the effective date of this Act under any law embraced in or modified, changed, or repealed by this Act may be prosecuted, punished, and enforced, and action thereon may be completed, in the same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had not been passed.

Effective Date.

 * This Act shall become effective on the last day of the twelfth month after approval of this Act, or on July 1, 1950, whichever date is later:


 * Provided, That the provisions of article 67 (a) of this Act shall become effective on the last day of the ninth month after approval of this Act:


 * Provided further, That the provisions of section 12 of this Act shall become effective on the date of the approval of this Act.


 * Articles of War 107, 108, 112, 113, 119, and 120 (41 Stat. 809, 810, 811), as amended, are further amended as follows:


 * These provisions as amended herein shall be construed to have the same force, effect, and applicability as they now have, but shall not be known as ‘‘Articles of War’’.

Oath of Enlistment.

 * Every person who is enlisted in any armed force shall take the following oath or affirmation at the time of his enlistment:


 * “I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”


 * This oath or affirmation may be taken before any officer.

Removal of Civil Suits.

 * When any civil or criminal prosecution is commenced in any court of a State of the United States against any member of the armed forces of the United States on account of any act done under color of his office or status, or in respect to which he claims any right, title, or authority under any law of the United States respecting the armed forces thereof, or under the law of war, such suit or prosecution may at any time before the trial or final hearing thereof be removed for trial into the district court of the United States in the district where the same is pending in the manner prescribed by law, and the cause shall thereupon be entered on the docket of such district court, which shall proceed as if the cause had been originally commenced therein and shall have full power to hear and determine said cause.

Dismissal of Officers.

 * No officer shall be dismissed from any of the armed forces except by sentence of a general court-martial, or in commutation thereof, or, in time of war, by order of the President; but the President may at any time drop from the rolls of any armed force any officer who has been absent without authority from his place of duty for a period of three months or more, or who, having been found guilty by the civil authorities of any offense, is finally sentenced to confinement in a Federal or State penitentiary or correctional institution.

Midshipmen.

 * The proviso of section 3 of the Act of April 9, 1906 (34 Stat. 104, ch. 1370), is amended to read as follows:


 * ``Provided, That such midshipman shall not be confined in a military or naval prison or elsewhere with men who have been convicted of crimes or misdemeanors; and such finding and sentence shall be subject to review in the manner prescribed for general court-martial cases.´´

Authority of Judge Advocate General.

 * Under such regulations as the President may prescribe, The Judge Advocate General of any of the armed forces is authorized upon application of an accused person, and upon good cause shown, in his discretion to grant a new trial, or to vacate a sentence, restore rights, privileges, and property affected by such sentence, and substitute for a dismissal, dishonorable discharge, or bad-conduct discharge, previously executed, a form of discharge authorized for administrative issuance, in any court-martial case involving offenses committed during World War II in which application is made within one year after termination of the war, or after its final disposition upon initial appellate review whichever is the later:


 * Provided, That only one such application for a new trial may be entertained with regard to any one case:


 * And provided further, Within the meaning of this section and of article of war 53, World War II shall be deemed to have ended as of the effective date of this Act.

Qualifications of the Judge Advocates General.

 * Hereafter The Judge Advocate General of an armed force, exclusive of the present incumbents and exclusive of the Coast Guard, shall be appointed from among those officers who at the time of such appointment are members of the bar of a Federal court or the highest court of a State or Territory and who have had not less than a total of eight years' experience in legal duties as commissioned officers.

Repeals.

 * The following sections or parts thereof of the Revised Statutes or Statutes at Large are hereby repealed. Any substantive rights or liabilities existing under such sections or parts thereof prior to the effective date of this Act shall not be affected by this repeal, and this Act shall not be effective to authorize trial or punishment for any offense if such trial or punishment is barred by the provisions of existing law:


 * Section 227 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by striking out the word ‘‘dismissal’’ and inserting in lieu thereof the word ‘‘discharge’’ in the catchline; and by striking out the word ‘‘dismiss’’ and inserting in lieu thereof the word ‘‘discharge’’ in the text.


 * ``§ 508. Deserters; arrest of by civil authorities; penalties.


 * ``§ 509. Prisoners; allowances to; transportation.

Authorization of Appropriations.

 * There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Approved May 5, 1950.

Legislative History

 * CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 96 (1950):
 * CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 96 (1950):

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