Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§903 Art. 103. Spies

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 47— - UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER X— - PUNITIVE ARTICLES › § 903

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

During war, anyone caught spying in places under military control or at ships, aircraft, shipyards, factories, or other sites helping the war must be tried by a general court-martial or a military commission and, if convicted, may be sentenced to death or another punishment; it does not apply to military commissions set up under chapter 47A of this title.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §903

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Any person who in time of war is found lurking as a spy or acting as a spy in or about any place, vessel, or aircraft, within the control or jurisdiction of any of the armed forces, or in or about any shipyard, any manufacturing or industrial plant, or any other place or institution engaged in work in aid of the prosecution of the war by the United States, or elsewhere, shall be tried by a general court-martial or by a military commission and on conviction shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial or a military commission may direct. This section does not apply to a military commission established under chapter 47A of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 90650:700.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 106), 64 Stat. 138. The words “of the United States” are omitted as surplusage.

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 903 was renumbered section 908a of this title.

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–328, § 5414, inserted “or such other punishment as a court-martial or a military commission may direct” after “punished by death”. Pub. L. 114–328, § 5401(7), renumbered section 906 of this title as this section. 2006—Pub. L. 109–366 inserted last sentence.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2016 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing

Regulations

and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.

Executive Documents

Proclamation No. 2561. Enemies Denied Access to United States Courts Proc. No. 2561, July 2, 1942, 7 F.R. 5101, 56 Stat. 1964, provided: Whereas the safety of the United States demands that all enemies who have entered upon the territory of the United States as part of an invasion or predatory incursion, or who have entered in order to commit sabotage, espionage or other hostile or warlike acts, should be promptly tried in accordance with the law of war; Now, therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, do hereby proclaim that all persons who are subjects, citizens or residents of any nation at war with the United States or who give obedience to or act under the direction of any such nation, and who during time of war enter or attempt to enter the United States or any territory or possession thereof, through coastal or boundary defenses, and are charged with committing or attempting or preparing to commit sabotage, espionage, hostile or warlike acts, or violations of the law of war, shall be subject to the law of war and to the jurisdiction of military tribunals; and that such persons shall not be privileged to seek any remedy or maintain any proceeding directly or indirectly, or to have any such remedy or proceeding sought on their behalf, in the courts of the United States, or of its States, territories, and possessions, except under such

Regulations

as the Attorney General, with the approval of the Secretary of War, may from time to time prescribe.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 903

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73