[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR11.3]

[Page 32-33]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER I--OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
 
PART 11_CRIMES AND ELEMENTS FOR TRIALS BY MILITARY COMMISSION--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  11.3  General.

    (a) Background. The following crimes and elements thereof are 
intended for use by military commissions established pursuant to 32 CFR 
part 9, and Military Order of November 13, 2001, ``Detention, Treatment, 
and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism,'' the 
jurisdiction of which extends to offenses or offenders that by statute 
or the law of armed

[[Page 33]]

conflict may be tried by military commission as limited by Military 
Order of November 13, 2001, ``Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain 
Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism.'' No offense is cognizable in 
a trial by military commission if that offense did not exist prior to 
the conduct in question. These crimes and elements derive from the law 
of armed conflict, a body of law that is sometimes referred to as the 
law of war. They constitute violations of the law of armed conflict or 
offenses that, consistent with that body of law, are triable by military 
commission. Because this document is declarative of existing law, it 
does not preclude trial for crimes that occurred prior to its effective 
date.
    (b) Effect of other laws. No conclusion regarding the applicability 
or persuasive authority of other bodies of law should be drawn solely 
from the presence, absence, or similarity of particular language in this 
part as compared to other articulations of law.
    (c) Non-exclusivity. This part does not contain a comprehensive list 
of crimes triable by military commission. It is intended to be 
illustrative of applicable principles of the common law of war but not 
to provide an exclusive enumeration of the punishable acts recognized as 
such by that law. The absence of a particular offense from the corpus of 
those enumerated herein does not preclude trial for that offense.