
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC943]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
                           PART II--PERSONNEL
 
              CHAPTER 47--UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE
 
   SUBCHAPTER XII--UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ARMED FORCES
 
Sec. 943. Art. 143. Organization and employees

    (a) Chief Judge.--(1) The chief judge of the United States Court of 
Appeals for the Armed Forces shall be the judge of the court in regular 
active service who is senior in commission among the judges of the court 
who--
        (A) have served for one or more years as judges of the court; 
    and
        (B) have not previously served as chief judge.

    (2) In any case in which there is no judge of the court in regular 
active service who has served as a judge of the court for at least one 
year, the judge of the court in regular active service who is senior in 
commission and has not served previously as chief judge shall act as the 
chief judge.
    (3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), a judge of the court shall 
serve as the chief judge under paragraph (1) for a term of five years. 
If no other judge is eligible under paragraph (1) to serve as chief 
judge upon the expiration of that term, the chief judge shall continue 
to serve as chief judge until another judge becomes eligible under that 
paragraph to serve as chief judge.
    (4)(A) The term of a chief judge shall be terminated before the end 
of five years if--
        (i) the chief judge leaves regular active service as a judge of 
    the court; or
        (ii) the chief judge notifies the other judges of the court in 
    writing that such judge desires to be relieved of his duties as 
    chief judge.

    (B) The effective date of a termination of the term under 
subparagraph (A) shall be the date on which the chief judge leaves 
regular active service or the date of the notification under 
subparagraph (A)(ii), as the case may be.
    (5) If a chief judge is temporarily unable to perform his duties as 
a chief judge, the duties shall be performed by the judge of the court 
in active service who is present, able and qualified to act, and is next 
in precedence.
    (b) Precedence of Judges.--The chief judge of the court shall have 
precedence and preside at any session that he attends. The other judges 
shall have precedence and preside according to the seniority of their 
original commissions. Judges whose commissions bear the same date shall 
have precedence according to seniority in age.
    (c) Status of Certain Positions.--(1) Attorney positions of 
employment under the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces are excepted 
from the competitive service. A position of employment under the court 
that is provided primarily for the service of one judge of the court, 
reports directly to the judge, and is a position of a confidential 
character is excepted from the competitive service. Appointments to 
positions referred to in the preceding sentences shall be made by the 
court, without the concurrence of any other officer or employee of the 
executive branch, in the same manner as appointments are made to other 
executive branch positions of a confidential or policy-determining 
character for which it is not practicable to examine or to hold a 
competitive examination. Such positions shall not be counted as 
positions of that character for purposes of any limitation on the number 
of positions of that character provided in law.
    (2) In making appointments to the positions described in paragraph 
(1), preference shall be given, among equally qualified persons, to 
persons who are preference eligibles (as defined in section 2108(3) of 
title 5).

(Added Pub. L. 101-189, div. A, title XIII, Sec. 1301(c), Nov. 29, 1989, 
103 Stat. 1572; amended Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title X, 
Sec. 1061(a)(1), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2503; Pub. L. 103-337, div. A, 
title IX, Sec. 924(c)(1), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2831; Pub. L. 104-201, 
div. A, title X, Sec. 1068(b), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2655; Pub. L. 
105-85, div. A, title X, Sec. 1073(a)(11), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 
1900.)


                               Amendments

    1997--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105-85 made technical amendment to 
heading and substituted ``under the court'' for ``under the Court'' in 
second sentence and ``positions referred to in the preceding sentences'' 
for ``such positions'' in third sentence.
    1996--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-201 substituted ``Certain'' for 
``Attorney'' in heading and inserted ``A position of employment under 
the Court that is provided primarily for the service of one judge of the 
court, reports directly to the judge, and is a position of a 
confidential character is excepted from the competitive service.'' after 
first sentence in par. (1).
    1994--Subsecs. (a)(1), (c). Pub. L. 103-337 substituted ``Court of 
Appeals for the Armed Forces'' for ``Court of Military Appeals''.
    1992--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-484 amended subsec. (a) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ``Chief Judge.--The 
President shall designate from time to time one of the judges of the 
United States Court of Military Appeals to be chief judge of the 
court.''


                          Transition Provision

    Section 1061(b) of Pub. L. 102-484 provided that: ``For purposes of 
section 943(a) (article 943(a)) of title 10, United States Code, as 
amended by subsection (a)--
        ``(1) the person serving as the chief judge of the United States 
    Court of Military Appeals [now United States Court of Appeals for 
    the Armed Forces] on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 23, 
    1992] shall be deemed to have been designated as the chief judge 
    under such section; and
        ``(2) the five-year term provided in paragraph (3) of such 
    section shall be deemed to have begun on the date on which such 
    judge was originally designated as the chief judge under section 
    867(a) or 943 of title 10, United States Code, as the case may be, 
    as that provision of law was in effect on the date of the 
    designation.''


                    Inapplicability of Subsection (c)

    Subsec. (c) of this section not to be applied to change civil 
service status of any attorney who is an employee of United States Court 
of Military Appeals [now United States Court of Appeals for the Armed 
Forces] on Nov. 28, 1989, see section 1301(h) of Pub. L. 101-189, set 
out as a Transitional Provisions note under section 942 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 5 section 2302.
