
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC5148]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle C--Navy and Marine Corps
 
                          PART I--ORGANIZATION
 
       CHAPTER 513--BUREAUS; OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL
 
Sec. 5148. Judge Advocate General's Corps: Office of the Judge 
        Advocate General; Judge Advocate General; appointment, term, 
        emoluments, duties
        
    (a) The Judge Advocate General's Corps is a Staff Corps of the Navy, 
and shall be organized in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
Secretary of the Navy.
    (b) There is in the executive part of the Department of the Navy the 
Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. The Judge Advocate 
General shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, for a term of four years. He shall be appointed 
from judge advocates of the Navy or the Marine Corps who are members of 
the bar of a Federal court or the highest court of a State or Territory 
and who have had at least eight years of experience in legal duties as 
commissioned officers. If an officer appointed as the Judge Advocate 
General holds a lower regular grade, the officer shall be appointed in 
the regular grade of rear admiral or major general, as appropriate.
    (c) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the 
Secretary of the Navy, in selecting an officer for recommendation to the 
President for appointment as the Judge Advocate General, shall ensure 
that the officer selected is recommended by a board of officers that, 
insofar as practicable, is subject to the procedures applicable to 
selection boards convened under chapter 36 of this title.
    (d) The Judge Advocate General of the Navy, under the direction of 
the Secretary of the Navy, shall--
        (1) perform duties relating to legal matters arising in the 
    Department of the Navy as may be assigned to him;
        (2) perform the functions and duties and exercise the powers 
    prescribed for the Judge Advocate General in chapter 47 of this 
    title;
        (3) receive, revise, and have recorded the proceedings of boards 
    for the examination of officers of the naval service for promotion 
    and retirement; and
        (4) perform such other duties as may be assigned to him.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 289; Pub. L. 87-649, Sec. 14c(20), 
Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 501; Pub. L. 90-179, Sec. 2(1), Dec. 8, 1967, 81 
Stat. 546; Pub. L. 96-513, title III, Sec. 343, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 
2901; Pub. L. 103-337, div. A, title V, Sec. 504(b)(1), Oct. 5, 1994, 
108 Stat. 2750.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
            Revised section                      Source (U.S. Code)            
   Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
5148..................................  5 U.S.C. 428.                        Ju
ne 8, 1880, ch. 129, 21 Stat.
                                                                              1
64; June 5, 1896, ch. 331, 29
                                                                              S
tat. 251.
                                        50 U.S.C. 741 (as applicable to      Ma
y 5, 1950, ch. 169, Sec.  13 (as
                                         Navy JAG).                           a
pplicable to Navy JAG), 64 Stat.
                                                                              1
47.
                                        5 U.S.C. 441 (as applicable to       Ju
ly 1, 1918, ch. 114, 40 Stat. 717
                                         JAG).                                (
1st sentence on p. 717, as
                                                                              a
pplicable to JAG).
                                        5 U.S.C. 425a (as applicable to      Ju
ne 22, 1938, ch. 567 (as
                                         JAG).                                a
pplicable to JAG), 52 Stat. 839.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (b) the rank, pay, allowances, and privileges of 
retirement of chiefs of bureaus of the Navy are incorporated. 5 U.S.C. 
441 apparently relates the Judge Advocate General of the Navy to the 
Judge Advocate General of the Army, as well as to bureau chiefs. 
However, since the creation of the Department of the Air Force by the 
National Security Act of 1947, if the incorporation to the Army 
provision is retained, the saving provisions in the act require an 
incorporation also to the rank, etc., of the Judge Advocate General of 
the Air Force. The rank of the Judge Advocate General of each of the 
other departments is now specified in organizational law to be major 
general. Since it is possible that these ranks may at some future time 
not be the same, incorporation by reference to them is no longer 
appropriate. Instead, the section relates the Judge Advocate General's 
rank, pay, allowances, and privileges of retirement to those of bureau 
chiefs as does 5 U.S.C. 441, in part.
    In subsection (c), clauses (1) and (4) are substituted for the words 
``and perform such other duties as have heretofore been performed by the 
Solicitor and Naval Judge Advocate General'' to describe the duties of 
the Judge Advocate General directly instead of by reference to the 
duties performed by an officer whose office was abolished more than 75 
years ago.
    Subsection (c)(2) is substituted for the reference, in 5 U.S.C. 428, 
to courts-martial and courts of inquiry, since the Uniform Code of 
Military Justice has superseded prior law as to the duties of the Judge 
Advocates General relating to these courts.


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 504(b)(1)(A), added last 
sentence and struck out former last sentence which read as follows: 
``While so serving, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy shall be 
entitled to the rank and grade of rear admiral or major general, as 
appropriate, unless entitled to a higher rank and grade under another 
provision of law.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-337, Sec. 504(b)(1)(B), added subsec. (c) 
and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: ``The Judge 
Advocate General of the Navy is entitled to the same rank and privileges 
of retirement as provided for chiefs of bureaus in section 5133 of this 
title.''
    1980--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96-513 inserted provision entitling Judge 
Advocate General of Navy to rank and grade of rear admiral or major 
general, as appropriate.
    1967--Pub. L. 90-179, Sec. 2(1)(A), inserted reference to Judge 
Advocate General's Corps in section catchline.
    Subsecs. (a) to (d). Pub. L. 90-179, Sec. 2(1)(B), (C), added 
subsec. (a), redesignated existing subsecs. (a) to (c) as (b) to (d), 
respectively, and in subsec. (b) as so redesignated substituted ``judge 
advocates'' for ``officers''.
    1962--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87-649 struck out ``, pay, allowances,'' 
after ``same rank''. See Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed 
Services.


                    Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 96-513 effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the 
authority to prescribe regulations under the amendment by Pub. L. 96-513 
effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96-513, set out 
as a note under section 101 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1962 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 87-649 effective Nov. 1, 1962, see section 15 
of Pub. L. 87-649, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 
101 of Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services.


        Redesignation of Navy Law Specialists as Judge Advocates

    Section 8 of Pub. L. 90-179 provided that:
    ``(a) In this section `law specialist' means a line officer on the 
active or retired list of the Regular Navy or of the Naval Reserve 
designated for special duty (law) or a line officer of the Naval Reserve 
assigned a numerical designator indicating a special duty officer (law).
    ``(b) All law specialists in the Navy are redesignated as judge 
advocates in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Navy. Each law 
specialist of the Navy who is on a promotion list on the day before the 
effective date of this Act [Dec. 8, 1967] shall be placed on the 
appropriate promotion list for the Judge Advocate General's Corps and 
shall be eligible for promotion when the officer who is to be his 
running mate in the next higher grade becomes eligible for promotion in 
that grade.''


                            Savings Provision

    Section 10 of Pub. L. 90-179 provided that: ``This Act [enacting 
sections 5578a and 5587a of this title, amending this section, sections 
801, 806, 815, 827, 865, 936, 5149, 5404, 5508, 5581, 5587, 5600, 5652a, 
5702, 5708, 5753, 5762, 5896, 5897 and 6378 of this title, and section 
202 of Title 37, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this 
section and section 5149 of this title] does not affect rights accrued, 
duties matured, or proceedings commenced before its effective date. 
Redesignation of an officer under section 8(b) of this Act [set out as a 
note under this section] shall not operate to change the computation of 
his service for any purpose.''


        Women Officers in Judge Advocate General's Corps of Navy

    Pub. L. 90-179, Sec. 11, Dec. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 549, provided that 
all provisions of law applicable to male officers in the Navy Judge 
Advocate General's Corps, including Naval Reserve, were applicable to 
women Corps officers, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 97-295, Sec. 6(b), Oct. 
12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1314.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 5149 of this title.
