Legal Resources

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm
Congressional Code of Military Criminal Law applicable to all military members worldwide.

Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act: http://www.jagcnet.army.mil/JAGCNETInternet/Homepages/AC/Legal%20Assistance%20Home%20Page.nsf/0/0806a532899687ce852568a800531506?OpenDocument
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003 (SCRA) formerly known as the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 (SSCRA) is a federal law that gives all military members important rights as they enter active duty. It covers such issues as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings, and income tax payments. It also provides many important protections to military members while on active duty.

Military Family Law Support: http://www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=FL115277 Provides support relating to clients in the military and their families, including procedural issues unique to the military, and custody and visitation, divorce, alimony/support, military pension division and Survivor Benefit Plan issues affecting military divorces.

Uniformed Services Former Spouse' Protection Act: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lamp/cle/usfspacp.pdf
The Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act (USFSPA) was passed by Congress in 1982. The USFSPA gives a State court the authority to treat military retired pay as marital property and divide it between the spouses. Congress' passage of the
USFSPA was prompted by the United States Supreme Court's decision in McCarty v. McCarty in 1981.

The Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003: http://www.abanet.org/tax/taxtips4u/03mftra.pdf The Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003 grants special tax relief to military personnel and their families.

Military Contract Law: http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/sschooner/
Provides leading information and discussions regarding Government Contract law by one of the Nation's top Government Contract Law Attorneys and Reserve Judge Advocate, Steve Schooner.

Law of Land Warfare: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~nstanton/FM27-10.htm
This website provides an electronic version of the U.S. Army's Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare, one of the major resources used for educating U.S. military personnel on the law of war. It contains numerous pertinent direct quotations from the various Geneva and Hague Conventions, as well as several official interpretations of these conventions.

Geneva Conventions - Treatment of Prisoners of War: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm
Provides information regarding rules applicable in all conflicts, regardless of whether the countries in question are signatories of the Geneva Conventions and regardless of whether the warring party in question is recognized as an independent state. Warring parties must obey the rules spelled out in the common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which requires that prisoners of war and wounded combatants be protected from murder; discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and similar criteria; mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; humiliating and degrading treatment; and sentencing or execution without a fair trial.

Military Commissions with Legal References: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/commissions.html
Information on military commissions, including official DoD documents, background information, news releases and legal references.

American Bar Association Military Law Committee of the General Practice, Solo, & Small Firm Division: http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/military/index.html
Get the latest on the key legal issues--student loan relief, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, reemployment rights of reservists, estate planning for the military, and survivor benefits--confronting reservists and their families now and in the future.

American Bar Association Standing Committee for Legal Assistance to Military Personnel: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lamp/#
Their mission is to help the military and the Department of Defense improve the effectiveness of legal assistance provided on civil matters to an estimated nine million military personnel and their dependents.

The Military Claims Act: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00002733----000-.html
Federal law which provides for compensation for property loss, personal injury or death, incident to noncombat activities of Department of Army, Navy, or Air Force.

The Military Whistleblower Protection Act: http://www.ig.navy.mil/Complaints/Complaints%20%20(Reprisal%20Military%20Whistleblower%20Protection).htm
The MWPA can be found in Title 10, United States Code, Section 1034 (10 U.S.C. 1034). The MWPA is implemented within the Department of Defense (DoD) by DoD Directive 7050.6 of 23 June 2000. Inspector General Departmental Guidance (IGDG) 7050.6 of 6 February 1996 sets forth the procedures to be followed in conducting MWPA investigations. This act protects members who report gross waste of funds or serious safety problems at a command, when they otherwise would fear reprisal for "blowing the whistle".