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When the area coordinator is not superior in rank or
command to the officer imposing punishment, or when
the area coordinator is the officer imposing punishment,
the appeal will be sent to the GCM authority next
superior in the chain of command to the officer who
imposed the punishment. An immediate or delegated
area coordinator who has authority to convene GCMs
may take action instead of an area coordinator if he or
she is superior in rank or command to the officer who
imposed the punishment.
For mobile units, the area coordinator for the pre-
vious purposes is the area coordinator most accessible
to the unit at the time of sending the appeal.
When the officer who imposed the punishment is in
the chain of command of the Commandant of the Ma-
rine Corps, the appeal will be made to the officer next
superior in the chain of command to the officer who
imposed the punishment.
When the officer who imposed the punishment has
been designated a CO for naval personnel of a multi-
service command, the appeal will be made according to
the JAGMAN.
A flag or general officer in command may, with the
express prior approval of the Chief of Naval Personnel
or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, delegate
authority to act on appeals to a principal assistant. An
officer who has delegated his or her NJP power to a
principal assistant may not act on an appeal from pun-
ishment imposed by that assistant.
TIME
Appeals must be submitted in writing within 5 days
of the imposition of NJP or the right to appeal is waived
in the absence of good cause shown. The appeal period
runs from the date the accused is informed or his or her
appeal rights. Normally, this is the day NJP is imposed.
With an appeal submitted more than 5 days after the
imposition of NJP (less any mailing delays), the officer
acting on the appeal determines whether good cause
was shown for the delay in the appeal.
Extension of Time
If it appears to the accused that good cause may
exist that would make it impossible or extremely diffi-
cult to prepare and submit the appeal within the 5-day
period, the accused should immediately advise the of-
ficer who imposed the punishment of the problems and
request an extension of time. The officer imposing NJP
determines whether good cause was shown and advises
the accused whether an extension of time is permitted.
Request for Stay of Restraint
Punishments or Extra Duty
A service member who has appealed may be re-
quired to undergo any restraint punishment or extra
duties imposed while the appeal is pending. If action is
not taken on the appeal by the appeal authority within
5 days after the written appeal has been submitted and
if the accused has so requested, any unexecuted punish-
ment involving restraint or extra duties will be stayed
until action on the appeal is taken. The accused should
include in his or her written appeal a request for stay of
restraint punishment or extra duties; however, a written
request for a stay is not specifically required.
CONTENTS OF APPEAL PACKAGE
The appeal package will consist of the appellant’s
basic letter of appeal, the endorsement by the CO who
imposed the NJP, and the supervisory authority’s re-
sponse to the appeal.
Appellant’s Letter (Grounds for Appeal)
The letter of appeal from the accused should be
addressed to the appropriate appeal authority via the
commander who imposed the punishment and other
appropriate COs in the chain of command. The letter
should set forth the obvious features of- the NJP (date,
offense, who imposed it, and punishment imposed) and
detail the specific grounds for relief.
There are only two grounds for appeal—-the pun-
ishment was unjust or the punishment was dispropor-
tionate to the offense committed. The grounds for
appeal are broad enough to cover all reasons for appeal.
Unjust punishment exists when the evidence is not
enough to prove the accused committed the offense;
when the statute of limitations prohibits lawful punish-
ment; or when any other fact, including a denial of
substantial rights, calls in question the validity of the
punishment.
Punishment is disproportionate if it is, in the judg-
ment of the reviewer, too severe for the offense com-
mitted. An offender who believes that his or her
punishment is too severe, appeals on the ground of
disproportionate punishment, whether or not his or her
letter artfully states the ground in precise terminology.
A punishment may be legal but excessive or unfair
considering circumstances such as (1) the nature of the
offense, (2) the absence of aggravating circumstances,
(3) the prior record of the offender, and (4) any other
circumstances in extenuation and mitigation.
The grounds for appeal need not be stated artfully
in the accused’s appeal letter, and the reviewer may have
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