§950p — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

Defines key terms and limits when military commissions can try people for war crimes. "Military objective" — combatants or things that help an enemy fight, where destroying or capturing them gives a clear advantage. "Protected person" — people the Geneva Conventions protect, like civilians not fighting, wounded or captured soldiers, and medical or religious military staff. "Protected property" — places the law of war shields, such as churches, schools, hospitals, historic monuments, and places for the sick, but only if they are not being used for military purposes; it also covers objects marked with Geneva emblems and excludes civilian property that is a military target. For certain listed offenses (paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (12) of section 950t), the required intent does not cover collateral damage or harm that happens during a lawful attack. An offense here can be tried by military commission only if it happened in and was connected to hostilities. These rules simply codify crimes long tried by military commission; they do not create new crimes and do not block trials for acts that happened before the subchapter was enacted or as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

Title 10, §950p

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this subchapter:

(1)The term “military objective” means combatants and those objects during hostilities which, by their nature, location, purpose, or use, effectively contribute to the war-fighting or war-sustaining capability of an opposing force and whose total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization would constitute a definite military advantage to the attacker under the circumstances at the time of an attack.

(2)The term “protected person” means any person entitled to protection under one or more of the Geneva Conventions, including civilians not taking an active part in hostilities, military personnel placed out of combat by sickness, wounds, or detention, and military medical or religious personnel.

(3)The term “protected property” means any property specifically protected by the law of war, including buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, but only if and to the extent such property is not being used for military purposes or is not otherwise a military objective. The term includes objects properly identified by one of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, but does not include civilian property that is a military objective.

(b)The intent required for offenses under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (12) of section 950t of this title precludes the applicability of such offenses with regard to collateral damage or to death, damage, or injury incident to a lawful attack.

(c)An offense specified in this subchapter is triable by military commission under this chapter only if the offense is committed in the context of and associated with hostilities.

(d)The provisions of this subchapter codify offenses that have traditionally been triable by military commission. This chapter does not establish new crimes that did not exist before the date of the enactment of this subchapter, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, but rather codifies those crimes for trial by military commission. Because the provisions of this subchapter codify offenses that have traditionally been triable under the law of war or otherwise triable by military commission, this subchapter does not preclude trial for offenses that occurred before the date of the enactment of this subchapter, as so amended.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this subchapter, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, referred to in subsec. (d), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 111–84, which was approved Oct. 28, 2009.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 950p, added Pub. L. 109–366, § 3(a)(1), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2624, related to statement of substantive offenses, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 111–84.

§950p Definitions; construction of certain offenses; common circumstances