Appendix A to Part 153 - Guidelines

Appendix A to Part 153 - Guidelines

(a) Civilians employed by the Armed Forces outside the United States who commit felony offenses while outside the U.S. are subject to U.S. criminal jurisdiction under the Act, and shall be held accountable for their actions, as appropriate.

(b) Civilians accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States who commit felony offenses while outside the U.S. are subject to U.S. criminal jurisdiction under the Act, and shall be held accountable for their actions, as appropriate.

(c) Former members of the Armed Forces who commit felony offenses while serving as a member of the Armed Forces outside the U.S., but who ceased to be subject to UCMJ court-martial jurisdiction without having been tried by court-martial for such offenses, are subject to U.S. criminal jurisdiction under the Act and shall be held accountable for their actions, as appropriate.

(d) The procedures of this part and DoD actions to implement the Act shall comply with applicable Status of Forces Agreements, and other international agreements affecting relationships and activities between the respective host nation countries and the U.S. Armed Forces. These procedures may be employed outside the United States only if the foreign country concerned has been briefed or is otherwise aware of the Act and has not interposed an objection to the application of these procedures. Such awareness may come in various forms, including but not limited to Status of Forces Agreements containing relevant language, Diplomatic Notes or other acknowledgements of briefings, or case-by-case arrangements, agreements, or understandings with appropriate host nation officials.

(e) Consistent with the long-standing policy of maximizing U.S. jurisdiction over its citizens, the Act and this part provide a mechanism for furthering this objective by closing a jurisdictional gap in U.S. law and thereby permitting the criminal prosecution of covered persons for offenses committed outside the United States. In so doing, the Act and this part provide, in appropriate cases, an alternative to a host nation's exercise of its criminal jurisdiction should the conduct that violates U.S. law also violate the law of the host nation, as well as a means of prosecuting covered persons for crimes committed in areas in which there is no effective host nation criminal justice system.

(f) In addition to the limitations imposed upon prosecutions by section 3261(b) of the Act, the Act and these procedures should be reserved generally for serious misconduct for which administrative or disciplinary remedies are determined to be inadequate or inappropriate. Because of the practical constraints and limitations on the resources available to bring these cases to successful prosecution in the United States, initiation of action under this part would not generally be warranted unless serious misconduct were involved.

(g) The procedures set out in the Act and this part do not apply to cases in which the return of fugitive offenders is sought through extradition and similar proceedings, nor are extradition procedures applicable to cases under the Act.