CNN —President Joe Biden on Friday ordered a historic change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice by transferring key decision-making authorities outside the military chain of command in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, murder and other serious crimes. Key among the changes in the order is the establishment of rules to govern the newly formed Offices of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) which, composed of a panel of independent military prosecutors, would make prosecutorial decisions involving sexual assault and other violent crimes. Biden signed the order Friday morning before departing for Maine. The text of the executive order was posted on whitehouse.gov and a White House official said the full changes to the Manual for Courts Martial will be published in the Federal Register, which may take a few days. Under the 2022 NDAA, the new changes are set to take effect by December 27, 2023 – but, per the administration official, the OSTC has already been established within the Department of Defense and is in the process of staffing up.

Source: CNN July 29, 2023 18:57 UTC