Executive Order 13730: 2016 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
President: Barack Obama
Revised court-martial procedure, evidence and punitive provisions under article 36 of the UCMJ.
Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 13730 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13730 was superseded. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13730 do?
EO 13730 amended the Manual for Courts-Martial to incorporate legislation and approved rule changes current in 2016. The revisions affected pretrial, trial, evidentiary and punitive provisions. The Military Justice Act of 2016 and later annual amendments substantially restructured the system, so current cases require the latest Manual and offense-date rules rather than this historical package alone.
Before and after
Before the order
The Manual required updates for recent statutes and annual rule review.
After the order
Courts-martial applied the 2016 amendments until later law and manuals replaced them.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Department | Publish and implement amendments | Completed |
| Military judges and counsel | Apply provisions by effective date | Historical transition |
| Practitioners | Use current Manual and offense-date law | Continuing |
What happened next
EO 13730 amended the Manual.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Article 36 authorizes presidential procedural rules. Statutes prevail, and ex post facto and due-process limits govern retroactivity.
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.
- Joint Service Committee — current Manual (opens in a new tab) Official record
- U.S. Code — UCMJ (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →