court-martial

A court-martial is, in US law, a military trial brought against members of the armed forces under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) rather than in the civilian court system. The term thus covers the military counterpart to an ordinary criminal case, but with its own jurisdiction, its own rules and its own legal basis.

The court-martial system is governed primarily by the UCMJ, codified in Title 10 of the U.S. Code. The UCMJ's definitions appear in 10 U.S.C. § 801, while the jurisdictional rules are set out in §§ 817 and 818. This body of rules determines who may be prosecuted militarily, and for which offences.

There are three types of court-martial, of increasing seriousness and competence: summary court-martial, special court-martial and general court-martial. A general court-martial has the broadest jurisdiction and can hear the most serious cases — including war crimes and other grave violations of military law or international humanitarian law.

In the case against Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL and leader of a special forces unit in Iraq, a general court-martial was used. Gallagher was charged with, among other things, the intentional killing of a wounded ISIS prisoner. In 2019 he was acquitted of the most serious charges, but convicted of having posed for a photograph with the body. The case is a prominent example of how the court-martial system handles allegations of war crimes committed by military personnel on active duty.

A decisive difference from the civilian court system is that court-martial jurisdiction is limited to persons subject to military jurisdiction — that is, primarily active soldiers and officers. Civilians cannot, as a starting point, be prosecuted by court-martial.