United States military commission

E60835

The United States military commission was a wartime military tribunal system used by the U.S. armed forces to try individuals, including enemy commanders, for alleged violations of the laws of war.

All labels observed (6)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf military tribunal
war crimes court
administeredBy United States Department of Defense
United States armed forces
appliesToJurisdiction United States armed forces
authorizedBy President of the United States
U.S. Congress
controversy criticized for admissibility of coerced or hearsay evidence (historically)
criticized for due process concerns
debate over compliance with Geneva Conventions
country United States
distinguishedFrom United States court-martial system
United States federal civilian courts
hasNotableUseCase Guantánamo Bay detainee trials after 2001
post–World War II war crimes trials in the Pacific
trial of Nazi saboteurs in Ex parte Quirin (1942)
legalBasis Articles of War (historical U.S. military law)
linked to: Articles of War

U.S. Constitution war powers (interpreted)
customary international humanitarian law
laws of war
locationOfProceedings Guantánamo Bay Naval Base
various U.S. military theaters of war
proceduralCharacteristics limited rights of appeal compared to civilian courts
military officers serve as members (fact-finders)
rules of evidence differ from civilian courts
purpose adjudicate offenses triable by the law of war
prosecute enemy combatants
prosecute enemy commanders
try individuals for alleged violations of the laws of war
reformedBy Military Commissions Act of 2006
Military Commissions Act of 2009
relatedConcept enemy combatant
international humanitarian law
law of armed conflict
military justice system of the United States
war crimes
subjectOf Boumediene v. Bush (U.S. Supreme Court case)
Ex parte Quirin (U.S. Supreme Court case)
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (U.S. Supreme Court case)
timePeriod used in multiple U.S. wars from 19th to 21st century
typicalDefendants enemy belligerents
enemy commanders
non-U.S. nationals captured in armed conflict
usedInConflict American Civil War
War on Terror
World War II

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (29)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tomoyuki Yamashita convictedBy United States military commission
George Atzerodt trialBy United States military commission
David Herold trialHeldBy United States military commission
Mary Surratt convictedBy United States military commission
Michael O'Laughlen triedBy United States military commission
Flick Trial conductedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Wilhelm List wasTriedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Samuel Arnold triedBy United States military commission
GTMO usedBy U.S. military commissions system
linked to: United States military commission
IG Farben triedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
RuSHA Trial tribunalType U.S. Military Tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Yamashita Tomoyuki trialHeldBy United States military commission
Ewald Loeser wasTriedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Erich Mueller wasTriedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Friedrich Janssen wasTriedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Edman Spangler trialHeldBy United States military commission
George Atzerodt triedBy U.S. military commission
subject linked to: Atzerodt
linked to: United States military commission
Lewis Powell triedBy United States military commission
Washington Arsenal Penitentiary usedBy U.S. military commission
linked to: United States military commission
David Edgar Herold triedBy United States military commission
Samuel Mudd trialBy United States military commission
subject linked to: Dr. Samuel Mudd
Lincoln assassination conspirators triedBy United States military commission
Case VIII conductedBy United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Hermann Terberger judicialProcess United States military tribunal
linked to: United States military commission
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins convictedBy U.S. military commission
linked to: United States military commission
United States military tribunal in Manila category United States military tribunals
linked to: United States military commission
Trial of General Tomoyuki Yamashita heldBy United States military commission
Tomoyuki Yamashita wasTriedBy United States military commission
subject linked to: Yamashita
Nuremberg IG Farben trial tribunalType U.S. Military Tribunal
linked to: United States military commission