Page 67 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

Introduction to Military Law

The force of government behind customs and codes of law trans- The U,S. Constitution and Military Law
forms them into prilcticallaws regulating the daily H\'es of people. In the United States, all la\\' is based on the Constitution, or, as it
These laws arc further defined by court decisions and rulings by is called, (OllstitlltiOlwlla\\'. 'rhe Constitution guarantees the rights
judges. '10 introduce the study of military law, the following sec- of all citizens to equitable treatment under the law. 11 gives the
tions will briefly co\'er the development of om various law codes Congress the power to provide and maintain a Navy and to estab-
and how they relate to each other in our society. lish rules and regulations for its operation, which collectively are
referred to as lIIilitlll)' law.
In civilian life, criminalla\\' seeks to protect society ti'om the
History of Law Codes
acts of its irresponsible members, without infringing upon their
Civil law has a history going back to the first known code com- individu'll rights under the Constitution. IvWitary law similarly
piled by King Hammurabi of Babylon in about 1700 B.C. Roman restrains individuals for protection of the whole military society.
law, drawn up by Emperor Justinian I (A.D. 527-565), developed but also establishes the prescribed conduct that <"Ill members mllst
into the basic civil law of most European countries. After twelve obsen'e to preserve order and discipline.
centuries of legal refinement, it was finnlly codified by Emperor Some acts considered rights in a civilian society might be
Napoleon I of France in 1804. It is probably the greatest legacy offenses in a military society. For instance, "telling off the boss" is
passed on to modern society by that great leader. Nnpoleon's Civil not unlawful for an American civilian, but in the milit<Uy services it
Code, as it was called, has become the basic civil law of much of the could be an offense punishable by court-martial. Civilians can quit
world. Under the Civil Code, the accused must, to a large extent. their jobs if they do not like them; in the military, that cOllstitutes
prove himself or herself innocent of any chargcs filed against him a major offense called desertion. In civilian life, if people decide to
or her by the statc. jointly protest their working conditions or pay, they may strike; in
The development of law in English-speaking cOllntries was dif-
the naval service, that action constitutes the offense of IIlIlfill)'.
ferent. England's King John I was obliged to sign the .Ml1gna Carta The defense of the nation is not the kind of business in which
in 1215. From this beginning, a body of CO""11011 lnll' developed citizens can do their own thing when, or if, it pleases them. The
from decisions in the killg's courts. Later, the burden of both crim- demands of military service arc such that positive control nnd an
inal and civil cases became too great for a single court system, so established code of conduct arc required always. Readiness for
civil cases were referred to the Court of Chancery. This developed emergencies, ,lS well as coping with the emergency itself, demands
into the body of civil or eqllity lal\' in England, most of the British a code of la\\' differing in some degree from the normal civil code.
Commonwealth, nnd the United States. It is lIsed to restore rights, fvlilitary law is the law regulating the militaqr establishment,
compensate damages, and correct injuries in civil cases. including the military justice system. It is designed to preserve
Cril1linallnll', retained by the King's Court, was derived from good order and discipline within the military service, in the same
that p<"lrt of English common law designed to punish or deter way that state and federal laws are designed to preserve good order
wrongdoers by bringing them to court for justice. Trial by a jury in the civilian community. U.S. milital')' la\\', like U.S. civil law,
of peers-citizens of equal status under the law-is a specific right requires Ihnt the rights of each individual be protected and seeks 10
under English common law and guaranteed to each American assure c"er}' person in uniform equal justice under the law.
citizen in the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A fun- The laws that govern the United States Navy had their origin in
damental fe,Hure of English and U.S. law is thnt the accused is 1775, when the "Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United
presumed innocent until the evidence brought before the jury Colonies" were first established. These first laws were based largely
proves guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. This codified system on British cOlllmon and Royal Navy admiralty la\\'. Over the years
of bw is both revolutionary and evolutionary as compared to the since their formulation, the U.S. Navy laws have undergone con-
Napoleonic Code. stant modification and improvement to meet changing require-
ments up to the present day.

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