Executive Order 13262: 2002 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
President: George W. Bush
Amended the Manual for Courts-Martial to implement statutory changes and revise military trial, evidence, sentencing, record and review rules, including special-court-martial punishment limits and life without parole.
Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 13262 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13262 was superseded. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13262 do?
The order assigned these duties: Defense Department and armed services — Apply the amended Rules for Courts-Martial, Military Rules of Evidence and punishments; Convening authorities and military judges — Use the revised jurisdiction, sentencing, record and review procedures.
Compared the 2002 Manual amendments and staged effective dates with the signed order and Joint Service Committee records. The 2024 Manual is treated as the current rule text with later changes, not as proof that every 2002 provision remains unchanged.
Before and after
Before the order
The 2000 Manual and intervening statutes left multiple rules, maximum punishments and explanatory materials requiring presidential revision.
After the order
The services incorporated the changes into the 2002 Manual. Later statutes and executive orders repeatedly revised the military-justice system, and the Joint Service Committee’s 2024 Manual republishes the current rules while preserving EO 13262 in the amendment history.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Department and armed services | Apply the amended Rules for Courts-Martial, Military Rules of Evidence and punishments | From May 15, 2002, subject to the order’s transition rules |
| Convening authorities and military judges | Use the revised jurisdiction, sentencing, record and review procedures | In covered courts-martial |
| Joint Service Committee | Incorporate the amendments into later Manual editions and track later changes | With subsequent editions |
What happened next
EO 13262 signed.
EO 13262 was signed.
The order’s Federal Rule of Evidence 415 provision took effect after 30 days.
The remaining amendments took effect under the order’s transition provisions.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Article 36 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice authorizes presidential procedural and evidence rules that are not contrary to the UCMJ. EO 13262 applied prospectively under its transition clause and did not reopen final cases. Later Manual language and statutes control current proceedings; no located opinion invalidated the order as a whole.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →