A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the authorities and responsibilities of convening authorities in taking actions on the findings and sentences of courts-martial.
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Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to require a convening authority (the official acting on the sentence of a court-martial), when taking any action other than approving a sentence, to prepare a written justification of such action which shall be made part of the record of the court-martial.
Prohibits a convening authority (or person acting in such capacity) from: (1) dismissing or setting aside a finding of guilty, or (2) reducing a finding of guilty to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense. Repeals an inconsistent UCMJ provision.
Committee on Armed Services. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-320.
- Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 538: A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the authorities and responsibilities of convening authorities in taking actions on the findings and sentences of courts-martial.. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-538/
"S. 538: A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the authorities and responsibilities of convening authorities in taking actions on the findings and sentences of courts-martial.." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-538/.
S. 538, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-538/.
[S. 538: A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the authorities and responsibilities of convening authorities in taking actions on the findings and sentences of courts-martial.](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-538/)