Uniform Code of Military Justice

1948–51: Drafting of the Code

At the conclusion of World War II in 1945, a considerable amount of criticism arose regarding the justice systems of the Army and Navy, which at that time covered all military services in the United States—the Air Force was not officially established until 1947—but operated under separate and distinct systems of justice. The Army operated under the Articles of War, and the Navy operated under the Articles for the Government of the Navy. Many felt that the justice systems of both branches were harsh, arbitrary, characterized by command influence, and used as an instrument of discipline. Consequently, the secretary of war and secretary of the Navy commissioned several independent boards and committees to conduct studies of both systems, including the Board on Officer–Enlisted Men's Relationships, headed by Gen. James Doolittle. The Doolittle Board called for a “review of the machinery for administering military justice and the courts-martial procedure.” It recommended “making all personnel subject to the same types of punishment.” Accordingly, the Army and Navy submitted separate bills for introduction early in the 80th Congress revising their respective systems of military justice.

During the first session of the 80th Congress (1947–49), however, the National Security Act was passed, creating a separate Department of the Air Force and unifying the armed forces under a single Department of Defense. Because the revisions submitted by the Army and Navy differed in many respects and to avoid establishing a third distinct system of military justice for the Air Force, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee suggested to Sec. of Defense James Forrestal that a bill be prepared for introduction early in the 81st Congress that would provide a uniform system of justice for all branches of the armed forces. Consequently, in July 1948 Forrestal appointed a committee, chaired by Harvard Law School professor Edmund Morgan, to draft a Uniform Code of Military Justice that would be equally applicable to all branches of the armed forces.

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