United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy (not just the ''

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

''), endowed with the sanction of law, as to duty, responsibility, authority, distinctions and relationships of various officials, organizations and individuals. Navy Regulations are issued by the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, and are permanent regulations of general applicability, as opposed to other regulations that may be issued in accordance with law. The Navy Regulations serve in effect much as a vehicle of implementation of

Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code. It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Ea ...

as it pertains to the Naval Services. However, Navy Regulations do not take legal precedence over any order or directive issued by either the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

, or of an

Act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

. The

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

is responsible for maintaining the Navy Regulations, and for ensuring that they conform to the current needs of the Department of the Navy. Other directives issued within the Department of the Navy may not conflict with, alter or amend any provision of Navy Regulations. Any additions, changes or deletions to the U.S. Navy Regulations must be approved by the Secretary of the Navy.

History

Navy Regulations began with the enactment by the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

of the "Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies" on November 28, 1775. The first issuance by the United States Government which covered this subject matter was "An Act for the Government of the Navy of the United States," enacted on March 2, 1799. This was followed the next year by "An Act for the Better Government of the Navy of the United States." In the years preceding the

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, twelve successor publications were promulgated under a number of titles by the President, the Navy Department and the Secretary of the Navy. A decision by the

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that the last of the pre-Civil War issuances was invalid led to the inclusion in the 1862 naval appropriations bill of a provision that "the orders, regulations, and instructions heretofore issued by the Secretary of the Navy be, and they are hereby, recognized as the regulations of the Navy Department, subject, however, to such alterations as the Secretary of the Navy may adopt, with the approbation of the President of the United States." Thirteen editions of Navy Regulations were published in accordance with this authority (later codified as Section 1547, Revised Statutes) between 1865 and 1948. The 1973 edition of Navy Regulations was published under authority of , which provided that "United States Navy Regulations shall be issued by the Secretary of the Navy with the approval of the President." In 1981, this provision was amended to eliminate the requirement for presidential approval. While leaving this provision unaffected, Congress enacted the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99–443), which granted each of the service secretaries the explicit authority to prescribe regulations to carry out his or her statutory functions, powers and duties.

References

External links

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 32: National Defense, Part 700, Subpart A, Navy RegulationsUnited States Navy Regulations, 1990
{{US Navy navbox United States Navy United States military law

History

See also

References

External links