[vbezhenar]

Who decides whether order is lawful or not?

[sorcerer-mar]

A soldier comes to their own assessment then a court martial decides later on if they agree. Just like every other form of action: do what you believe is within bounds, then find out later if the courts agree

[JumpCrisscross]

> Who decides whether order is lawful or not?

The individual. If your boss orders you to do something illegal, it’s up to you to be sceptical and do your research. That’s the only way it can work without converting a part of the population to drones.

[jfengel]

If the order is wrong, it's your fault for failing to know that.

If the order is valid, it's your fault for questioning it.

[Tepix]

You‘re supposed to evaluate it in order to determine whether it’s wrong or not.

[kelnos]

I believe that's exactly what the GP was saying.

[Yoric]

There are military lawyers for this. I seem to recall that Trump fired them last month.

[curt15]

Lawyers provide legal advice but are not judges.

[Yoric]

By lawyer, I meant that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Advocate_General%27s_Cor... . They also serve as judges, as far as I understand.

[vbezhenar]

You don't have lawyer in the trenches. You have an order, if you don't obey, you might be executed at place.

[nozzlegear]

Real life is not like the movies. You aren't executed for disobeying or refusing an order in the US military.

[sorcerer-mar]

> You have an order, if you don't obey, you might be executed at place.

Uhhhh... not in the US (or any western) military you won't.

[olyjohn]

But if you're a soldier of the Klingon Empire, you might.