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User:Geo Swan/Convening Authority (Guantanamo)

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The term Convening Authority is used by the United States military to refer to an individual whose job includes appointing officers to play a role in a Court Martial, or preliminary hearings.[1] The officers on a Court Martial, Tribunal, or Military Commission, report back to the Convening Authority their recommended verdict.[2] The Guantanamo military commissions were set up so that they too answered to an individual called the Convening Authority, based on the usage within the US military, but with certain key differences.

In US military usage the convening authority is always a military officer. Under the Guantanamo military commission system those individuals are always civilians. However six of the seven individuals chosen were recently retired flag officers.[3][4] Susan Crawford, the second Convening Authority, had been a long-term senior civilian lawyer for the Department of Defense, eventually serving as the Inspector General.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Commanding Officers Convening Authority". Military.com. Retrieved 2010-04-14. In referring a matter to court-martial, the CO becomes the convening authority. As such, the CO decides what charges to refer to the court-martial; what type of courts-martial; and selects the court-martial members (jury).
  2. ^ "§ 860. Art. 60. Action by the convening authority". Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 2010-04-14. The findings and sentence of a court-martial shall be reported promptly to the convening authority after the announcement of the sentence.
  3. ^ "Head of Military Commissions Quits". Wall Street Journal. November 15, 2006.
  4. ^ Michael Isikoff (2010-03-24). "Pentagon to Name New Chief for Military Commissions in Sign That Gitmo Trials May Move Forward". Newsweek. Retrieved 2010-04-14. The appointment of retired Admiral Bruce MacDonald, who formerly served as the chief Judge Advocate of the Navy, as the new "convening authority" for the Office of Military Commissions is among the most important moves in an apparent gearing up for the expected new wave of trials.
  5. ^ "Seasoned Judge Tapped to Head Detainee Trials". Department of Defense. February 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-01. mirror
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