MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Deputy Secretary of Defense recently approved the implementation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act for all Department of Defense installations outside of the United States.
The MEJA extends U.S. criminal jurisdiction over civilian employees and dependents serving with or accompanying the military overseas. Under the statute, civilians who commit a felony offense overseas may be ordered back to the U.S. to face criminal changes in a Federal district court.
Prior to this statute, civilians were only accountable under the laws of the host nation. Now, they are accountable for both the laws of the host nation as well as the laws of the U.S.
“Congress identified a problem with U.S. civilians serving with the military overseas. They were essentially immune from U.S. criminal law,” said Maj. George Cadwalader, deputy Station judge advocate.
Unlike service members, civilians are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The UCMJ has worldwide application, so jurisdiction over service members is never a problem. However, before the MEJA, U.S. civilian criminal law only applied in the U.S. and civilians did not have to obey those laws when they were outside the country.
A loophole arose when American civilians committed crimes overseas and the host nation elected not to exercise their criminal jurisdiction. Because they were not under the jurisdiction of the U.S. criminal justice system, suspects would escape punishment for their crimes. This was particularly true in cases where both the suspect and victim were Americans. More often than not, local authorities chose not to prosecute when the victim was not a citizen of the host nation.
This situation left commanders of overseas installations with a unique problem. They had no authority to punish civilians who had engaged in criminal misconduct. Their only remedy was to take away command sponsorship and send them back to the U.S., where they also could not receive punishment for their crimes.
For this reason, Congress passed the MEJA in 2000 in an effort to close this loophole. It wasn’t until March 3 that the DoD issued DoD Instruction 5525.11 explaining how the statute would be implemented.
Now, when DoD civilian employees, contractors, subcontractors or dependents are suspected of committing a felony-level crime, they can be arrested and temporarily detained by military authorities. A Federal Magistrate judge can order the suspect be returned to the U.S. to face criminal trial. The trial will ordinarily occur in the Federal district court with jurisdiction over the suspect’s last known residence in the U.S.
“For 99.9 percent of Station residents, this will have absolutely no impact on their lives because they don’t commit felonies,” said Cadwalader. “But, for the civilians who do decide to commit these crimes, I feel this will be very effective. It is another arrow in the quiver to help commanders ensure good order and discipline aboard their installations.”