Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§813 Art. 13. Punishment Prohibited Before Trial

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 47 — UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › SUBCHAPTER II — APPREHENSION AND RESTRAINT › § 813

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

People held for trial can only be detained for the charges they face; custody must not be harsher than needed, and only minor discipline is allowed.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §813

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against him, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon him be any more rigorous than the circumstances require to insure his presence, but he may be subjected to minor punishment during that period for infractions of discipline.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 81350:567.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 13), 64 Stat. 112. The words “the provisions of” are omitted as surplusage. The word “results” is changed to the singular. The word “may” is substituted for the word “shall”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1981—Pub. L. 97–81 substituted “No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected” for “Subject to section 857 of this title (article 57), no person, while being held for trial or the result of trial, may be subjected”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1981 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–81 to take effect at the end of the 60-day period beginning on Nov. 20, 1981, and to apply to each person held as the result of a court-martial sentence announced on or after that date, see section 7(a) and (b)(2) of Pub. L. 97–81, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 706 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 813

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102