Convening Authority
Encyclopedia
The term convening authority is used in United States military law to refer to an individual whose job includes appointing officers to play a role in a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...

, or similar military tribunal or military commission. The appointees serve as the military judge and members of the "panel", which decides the guilt or innocence of a person standing trial before the court-martial or military commission. The court-martial, tribunal, or Military Commission then reports back to the convening authority their recommended verdict.
Unlike a civilian trial, the convening authority's "command prerogative" entitles them to amend or overturn the sentence of a court-martial.

Guantanamo Military Commissions

The individual in over-all charge of the Guantanamo military commissions is also called the convening authority.
The first three incumbents were civilian officials, although the first and third incumbents, John D. Altenburg
John D. Altenburg
Major General John D. Altenburg Jr. is a former Green Beret and a lawyer for the U.S. Army. In December 2003,...

 and Bruce MacDonald, were retired military flag officers
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...

.
Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford is an US lawyer, who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions, on February 7, 2007.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Crawford to replace John D...

, the second convening authority, had been a long-term senior civilian lawyer for the Department of Defense, eventually serving as the Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...

.
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