Executive Order 9813 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
Executive Order 9813—Appointment of the Members and the Alternate Member of a Military Tribunal Establlished for the Trial and Punishment of Major War Criminals in Germany
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1946-12-20, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Appointment of the Members and the Alternate Member of a Military Tribunal Establlished for the Trial and Punishment of Major War Criminals in Germany." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.
Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and in the interest of the military and foreign affairs functions of the United States, it is ordered as follows: 1.
▪Swearingen, former Special Assistant to the Attorney General, as the Alternate Member, of one of the several military tribunals established by the Military Governor for the United States Zone of Occupation within Germany pursuant to the quadripartite agreement of the Control Council for German, enacted December 20, 1945, as Control Council Law No.
▪The Members and the Alternate Member herein designated shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes.
▪Personnel so assigned or detailed shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
Total Words
412
2,512 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.7
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9813, Harry S Truman (Dec 20, 1946). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9813-appointment-the-members-and-the-alternate-member-military-tribunal.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and in the interest of the military and foreign affairs functions of the United States, it is ordered as follows: 1. I hereby designate Walter B. Beals, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, Harold B. Sebring, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Florida, Johnson Tal Crawford, Judge of the District Court of the State of Oklahoma, as the Members, and Victor C. Swearingen, former Special Assistant to the Attorney General, as the Alternate Member, of one of the several military tribunals established by the Military Governor for the United States Zone of Occupation within Germany pursuant to the quadripartite agreement of the Control Council for German, enacted December 20, 1945, as Control Council Law No. 10, and pursuant to Articles 10 and 11 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal which Tribunal was established by the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional Government of the French Republish, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for the trial and punishment of major war criminals of the European Axis. Such members and alternate member may, at the direction of the Military Governor of the United States Zone Occupation, serve on any of the several military tribunals above mentioned. 2. The Members and the Alternate Member herein designated shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes. 3. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Navy are authorized to provide appropriate assistance to the Members and the Alternate Member herein designated in the performance of their duties and may assign or detail such personnel under their respective jurisdiction, including members of the armed forces, as may be requested for the purpose. Personnel so assigned or detailed shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, December 20, 1946
