Executive Order 13593: 2011 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
President: Barack Obama
Updated court-martial procedure, evidence rules and punitive provisions for the armed forces.
Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 13593 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13593 was superseded. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13593 do?
EO 13593 amended the Manual for Courts-Martial after review through the military justice rulemaking process. The package changed Rules for Courts-Martial, Military Rules of Evidence and offense explanations, including procedure for pleas, records and post-trial action. Most provisions took effect 30 days after publication and included transition rules. Later annual executive orders and the Military Justice Act of 2016 produced substantially revised current manuals.
Before and after
Before the order
The 2008 Manual and intervening amendments supplied the governing court-martial rules.
After the order
The 2011 package updated practice until later statutory and presidential revisions superseded its text.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Military judges and practitioners | Apply amended rules to covered proceedings | Historical |
| Joint Service Committee | Review and recommend later amendments | Continuing |
| President | Prescribe current procedure and evidence rules under Article 36 | Continuing through later orders |
What happened next
EO 13593 signed.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Article 36 of the UCMJ authorizes presidential procedural and evidentiary rules, subject to statute and constitutional due process. Transition clauses protected completed and pending actions.
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.
- U.S. Code — 10 USC 836 (opens in a new tab) Official record
- Congress — Military Justice Act of 2016 (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →