Defense and national security

Executive Order 13696: 2015 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States

President: Barack Obama

Updated court-martial rules, evidence provisions and punitive articles to reflect legislation and approved military justice reforms.

Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 13696 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13696 was superseded. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13696 do?

EO 13696 amended the Manual for Courts-Martial under article 36 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It revised procedural and evidentiary rules and provisions governing offenses, reflecting legislation and the annual review process current in 2015. Later executive orders, the Military Justice Act of 2016 and subsequent Manuals substantially changed the system, so the 2015 text matters mainly to cases governed by its effective dates.

Administration position: The order set generally applicable military justice rules; it did not decide individual guilt or remove statutory and constitutional protections.
SignedJune 17, 2015
AuthorityUCMJ article 36
InstrumentManual for Courts-Martial

Before and after

Before the order

The Manual required updates for recent legislation and approved practice changes.

After the order

Courts-martial applied revised rules until later enactments and manuals replaced them.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Defense DepartmentPublish and implement amendmentsCompleted
Military judges and counselApply provisions by effective dateHistorical transition
PractitionersUse current Manual and offense-date lawContinuing

What happened next

EO 13696 amended the Manual.