martial law

Temporary rule by military authorities, imposed on a civilian population especially in time of war or when civil authority has broken down.
The law imposed on an occupied territory by occupying military forces.

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Temporary rule of a designated area by military authorities in time of emergency when the civil authorities are deemed unable to function. Under martial law, civil rights are usually suspended, and the activities of civil courts are restricted or supplanted entirely by military tribunals. Such "acts done by necessity" are limited only by international law and the conventions of civilized warfare. Though temporary in theory, a state of martial law may in fact continue indefinitely. See also human rights; war crimes.

For more information on martial law, visit Britannica.com.

Oxford Companion to Military History:

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Martial law is government by military authorities when the normal machinery of civilian administration has broken down as a result of disaster, invasion, civil war, or large-scale insurrection. It is not to be confused with military law. Any trial of civilians held by military authorities under martial law would not enjoy the status of a court martial.

In the Middle Ages, martial law meant law administered by the court of the constable and marshal and from that court originated both the martial and military law of today. In Britain, it now means the law applicable by virtue of the royal prerogative to foreign territory occupied for the time being by the armed forces of the British Crown. Except insofar as the ordinary courts of the occupied territory are permitted to continue to exist and administer, justice is administered by military tribunals according to rules established by the military authorities of the occupying forces.

Martial law may also be established within a state itself in substitution for the ordinary government and legal system during serious disturbances. Again, in this event, justice is administered by military tribunals. Usually while the military authorities are restoring order, their conduct cannot be called into question by the ordinary courts of law. After the restoration of order, the legality of the military's actions might well be theoretically capable of examination. In Britain, this has not occurred since the 17th century. It cannot be declared in time of peace and it is uncertain whether martial law may be declared in emergency by act of royal prerogative or whether it always requires the approval of parliament. In either case, as mentioned above, the civil courts cannot interfere with the acts of the military in pursuance of their powers.

In other countries, a state of war has not necessarily been a prerequisite to a declaration of martial law or, more commonly, a ‘state of siege’. In April 1989, students, teachers, and human rights activists began demonstrating in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The demonstrations took place against the communist regime in China, against a backdrop of reform in other communist countries. Over the following months the number of demonstrators swelled to over one million people. Deng Xiao Ping evidently believed that this constituted a serious threat to his government and declared martial law on 20 May 1989; 300, 000 troops, largely from rural areas in China, were sent to Beijing. The People's Liberation Army put an end to the occupation on 3-4 June: up to 3, 000 people lost their lives, as many as 10, 000 were wounded, and there were countless arrests. This brutal use of martial law incensed world opinion but firmly re-established the hard-line Chinese regime.

Another example of a communist regime that used the tool of martial law to suppress internal dissent was Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski's Polish government in 1981. Although he used considerable force to crush the Solidarnosc (Solidarity) Trade Union, the morality of this imposition of martial law is less clear cut. The Solidarity movement was the most serious challenge to the Soviet system since the Prague Spring (in 1968). The Soviet government was worried by the Polish Communist Party's apparent willingness to compromise with the dissident movement and even though Stanisaw Kania, head of the Polish party, assured Moscow control could be maintained, the KGB believed otherwise. Thus, the Soviet army held some very threatening manoeuvres on the Polish border. Kania and Jaruzelski, who had become PM, visited Moscow and were told ‘the socialist community is indivisible and its defence is the concern of not just each individual state, but the socialist coalition as a whole’. This was a very explicit warning. Jaruzelski declared martial law in December 1981 and used the army and police apparatus to quash, albeit temporarily, the Solidarity movement. He also arrested many of its leaders. It is not clear whether he imposed martial law out of a genuine desire to suppress Solidarity or to forestall an imminent invasion by the Soviet army, thus avoiding both turning Poland into a battleground like Hungary in 1956 and having a Soviet-imposed regime whose repression would have been much worse. If the latter is the case, this is an example of using martial law for a political end vital to the continued independence of the country. In February 1996 a parliamentary committee leaned to the latter interpretation, recommending that Jaruzelski should not face prosecution for declaring martial law in 1981.

— Chris Mann

Oxford Companion to US Military History:

Martial Law

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sometimes defined as merely the will of the commanding general or whatever is necessary to preserve governmental authority, is the temporary control by military authorities of the civilian population in a particular area. Its application is generally to battle zones during war or areas of great or potentially great public disturbance in peacetime.

Americans rejected martial law in the Declaration of Independence, indicting George III for having put colonial Massachusetts under control of the British army. The U.S. Constitution limited the federal government's application of martial law by the provision in Article I, section 9, concerning the right of habeas corpus.

After 1798, the new government differentiated between military law and martial law. The former are the rules that govern members of the armed forces. The latter is the mechanism under which the military governs civilians. Martial law by federal authorities was viewed as permissible only under extraordinary circumstances which, as with suspension of habeas corpus, presumed congressional authorization.

Martial law was imposed by U.S. forces briefly on New Orleans during the War of 1812 and on areas of Mexico occupied by the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. But it became a major issue in the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln and the Union army used it in various states to restrain behavior by civilians both in the war zones and eventually in areas far removed from battle such as Ohio and Indiana. This virtual independence of military courts from supervision by civilian courts raised troubling questions; after the war, the U.S. Supreme Court in Ex Parte Milligan (1866) severely limited its application by the federal government and precluded it where civil courts functioned. Although martial law has been declared by state governors for areas hit by natural disasters or extensive violence, the federal government, with the exception of the treatment of the Japanese Americans on the West Coast in World War II, has seldom used martial law in the United States in the twentieth century.

Bibliography

James E. Sefton, The U.S. Army and Reconstruction, 1967.
Robin Higham, ed., Bayonets in the Streets: The Use of Troops in Civil Disturbances, 1969.
Robert W. Coakley, The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1789–1878, 1988.
Paul L. Murphy, ed., The Bill of Rights and American Legal History, 1990.
Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties, 1991.
Clayton D. Laurie, The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1879–1945, 1993

Oxford Dictionary of the US Military:

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Military government involving the suspension of ordinary law.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Oxford Dictionary of Politics:

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The resort to military force as a temporary expedient in exceptional circumstances to restore order and uphold civilian government. Troops may be deployed or the constitution suspended with the military assuming some or all of the functions of government.

— Ian Campbell

Oxford Dictionary of British History:

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The term has been used in two senses which may cause confusion:

1. The rules which apply to military discipline and related matters.
2. The rules and discipline which exist at times of public emergency, and displace the ordinary principles of the law. This notion has been of greater constitutional importance. This was one of the grievances objected to in the petition of right and the Bill of Rights.

The prevailing legal opinion is that there is no such thing as ‘martial law’ except in so far as the crown must have certain powers to act in the case of emergency, e.g. to put down a rebellion. This is not a special code of law but rather an example of the principle of necessity.

Gale Encyclopedia of US History:

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Martial Law is most easily defined as the application of military force to control all or part of an area where civilian authority is ineffective or in defiance of higher authority. Martial law often applies to battle theaters where army commanders require control of civilian resources close to front lines. In this vein, Andrew Jackson imposed martial law in New Orleans in 1814. More recently, martial law has been used to support civilian authorities in times of natural disaster. Americans traditionally view martial law with great suspicion because of the power it grants to the army and its commanders. The Declaration of Independence condemned George III's use of the British army to "render the military independent of, and superior to, civil power." The Constitution's guarantee of the right of habeas corpus protects U.S. citizens from potential arbitrary excesses of martial law. Only the president can declare martial law on the federal level and only governors may do so on the state level.

Despite American ideals opposing martial law, presidents have used it to deal with crises since the founding of the nation. George Washington declared martial law to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. Washington set an important American precedent by ordering the army to turn the rebels over to civil courts for trial. By not making the rebels subject to military law, Washington established the ideal that martial law should be used to bolster, not supersede, legally constituted local powers.

In order to avoid the often-unpopular step of declaring martial law, authorities have frequently called out troops without a formal declaration. Several governors used this tactic during the late nineteenth century in order to deploy local militia and guard units to quell railroad and mining strikes. These incidents raised questions about the proper chain of command for local militia, with governors seeking to maintain control of their militia without federal interference. In 1877, the governors lost the struggle when the National Guard Act made local militia subject to federalization in the event of a national emergency, as declared by the president.

On other occasions, presidents have used martial law when local authorities appeared unwilling or unable to enforce the law. During the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson used federal troops or federalized National Guard troops to enforce civil rights laws against the will of state governors, most notably at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, Oxford, Mississippi, in 1962, and Selma, Alabama, in 1965. In these cases, martial law effectively negated the power of recalcitrant local authority. In cases where local authority simply breaks down or cannot control an urban disturbance or natural disaster, martial law can be used to support local law enforcement.

Nevertheless, American suspicion of concentrated power has meant that martial law has only been declared thirty times, usually in localized areas and for brief time periods. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has limited the legal scale and scope of martial law. In the 1866 case Ex Parte Milligan, the court ruled that the military may not try civilians when civil courts are still functioning. In 1932, in Sterling v. Constantin, the Supreme Court asserted the right of judicial review over martial law.

Controversial uses of the military in domestic incidents, such as General Douglas MacArthur's 1932 eviction of the Bonus Army from Washington, D.C., have undermined the public's faith in martial law except in extraordinary circumstances. Excessive uses of martial law for purely political purposes have also tarnished the legitimacy of martial law. In 1935, the governor of arizona tried unsuccessfully to impose martial law in order to stop a federal project on federal land. Two years later, the governor of Rhode Island used martial law to enforce a ban on horse racing. To American sensitivities, these incidents did not warrant the drastic step of imposing martial law, whether at the state or federal level.

The regular military has normally been reluctant to participate in martial law situations. The army has not traditionally been trained to handle domestic disturbances, and it has not historically seen itself as a national police force. Moreover, declarations of martial law sometimes carry political overtones that the army prefers to avoid, as in the declaration of martial law by Indiana's Republican governor to head off a Copperhead movement in 1862 or the struggle in the wake of riots in Detroit in 1967 between President Johnson and Governor George Romney of Michigan, a potential Republican rival for the presidency in the 1968 election.

In practice, martial law in the United States usually involves the careful blending of military and civilian authorities. U.S. military authorities rarely completely take over situations, with the civil rights era being an important exception. More commonly, the military follows the Whiskey Rebellion model of deploying to support and assist local officials. This tradition fits in with perennial American fears of standing armies and concentrated power.

Bibliography

Coakley, Robert. The Role of Federal Military Forces in DomesticDisorders, 1789–1878. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1988.

Higham, Robin, ed. Bayonets in the Streets: The Use of Troops inCivil Disturbances. 2d ed. Manhattan, Kans.: Sunflower Press, 1989.

Neely, Mark, Jr. The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and CivilLiberties. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Columbia Encyclopedia:

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martial law, temporary government and control by military authorities of a territory or state, when war or overwhelming public disturbance makes the civil authorities of the region unable to enforce its law. Martial law refers to rule by the domestic army only; the rule of occupied territory by an invading army is known as military government. During a war, a nation may invoke martial law in some or all of its territory as part of the war effort. Martial law is also applied in serious cases of internal dissension; the army authorities may take over the administrative and judicial functions, and civil safeguards (e.g., habeas corpus and freedom of speech) may also be suspended. Where the civil courts remain open, even if their orders are executed by the military, martial law is not applicable. In the United States the federal government is limited in applying martial law by the provision of Article 1, Section 9, Subsection 2, of the Constitution, which concerns the suspension of habeas corpus. In most U.S. states, martial law may be proclaimed when deemed necessary for the public's safety. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in ex parte Milligan (1866) ruled that military trial of civilians when the civil courts were functioning was unconstitutional. Martial law, which applies to all persons, civil and military, in the area is to be distinguished from military law, the system of rules of government applying only to those in military service.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law:

Martial Law

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The exercise of government and control by military authorities over the civilian population of a designated terri- tory.

Martial law is an extreme and rare measure used to control society during war or periods of civil unrest or chaos. According to the Supreme Court, the term martial law carries no precise meaning (Duncan v. Kahanamoku, 327 U.S. 304, 66 S. Ct. 606, 90 L. Ed. 688 [1946]). However, most declarations of martial law share some common features. Generally, the institution of martial law contemplates some use of military force. To a varying extent, depending on the martial law order, government military personnel have the authority to make and enforce civil and criminal laws. Certain civil liberties may be suspended, such as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom of association, and freedom of movement. And the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended (this writ allows persons who are unlawfully imprisoned to gain freedom through a court proceeding).

In the United States, martial law has been instituted on the national level only once, during the Civil War, and on a regional level only once, during World War II. Otherwise, it has been limited to the states. Uprisings, political protests, labor strikes, and riots have, at various times, caused several state governors to declare some measure of martial law.

Martial law on the national level may be declared by Congress or the president. Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 15, of the Constitution, Congress has the power "[t]o provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel Invasions." Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution declares that "[t]he President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States." Neither constitutional provision includes a direct reference to martial law. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted both to allow the declaration of martial law by the president or Congress. On the state level, a governor may declare martial law within her or his own state. The power to do so usually is granted in the state constitution.

Congress has never declared martial law. However, in July 1861, Congress ratified most of the martial law measures declared by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Its martial law declaration gave the Union military forces the authority to arrest persons and conduct trials. However, Congress initially refused to ratify Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. This created friction between Congress and the president, and raised the question of whether unilateral suspension of the writ under martial law was within the president's power. The Supreme Court reviewed the issue and ruled in Ex parte Merryman, 17 F. Cas. 144 (1861) (No. 487), that only Congress had the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. After Congress approved Lincoln's suspension of the writ in 1863, Union forces were authorized to arrest and detain Confederate soldiers and sympathizers, but only until they could be tried by a court of law.

The martial law declared by Lincoln during the Civil War spawned another legal challenge, this one to the military courts: Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 2, 18 L. Ed. 281 (1866). Lamdin Milligan, a civilian resident of Indiana, was arrested on October 5, 1864, by the Union military forces. Milligan was charged with five offenses: conspiring against the United States, affording aid and comfort to rebels, inciting insurrection, engaging in disloyal practices, and violating the laws of war. Milligan was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to prison by a military court.

Although the habeas corpus petition had been suspended, the Supreme Court accepted Milligan's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court held that neither the president nor Congress could give federal military forces the power to try a civilian who lived in a state that had federal courts. Milligan firmly established the right of the U.S. Supreme Court to review the propriety of martial law declarations.

The next large-scale martial law declaration took place eighty years later. On December 7, 1941, the day that Japanese warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor in what was then the territory of Hawaii, Governor Joseph B. Poindexter, of Hawaii, declared martial law on the Hawaiian Islands. The governor also suspended the writ of habeas corpus. The commanding general of the Hawaiian military assumed the position of military governor. All courts were closed by order of the military governor, and the military was authorized to arrest, try, and convict persons. Under Poindexter's martial law order, approved by the president, the military courts were given the power to decide cases without following the rules of evidence of the courts of law, and were not limited by sentencing laws in determining penalties.

In February 1942 the Department of War appointed General John L. De Witt to carry out martial law in California, Oregon, Washington, and the southern part of Arizona. In March 1942 De Witt announced that the entire Pacific Coast of the United States would be subject to additional martial law measures. Later that month he declared that all alien Japanese, Germans, and Italians, and all persons of Japanese descent, on the Pacific Coast were to remain inside their home between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

These martial law measures were challenged by criminal defendants shortly after they were put in force. In Duncan v. Kahanamoku, 327 U.S. 304, 66 S. Ct. 606, 90 L. Ed. 688 (1946), the Supreme Court held that the military tribunals established under martial law in Hawaii did not have jurisdiction over common criminal cases, because the Hawaiian Organic Act (31 Stat. 141 [48 U.S.C.A. § 532]) did not authorize the governor to close the courts of law when they were capable of functioning. In Duncan the Court ordered the release of two prisoners who had been tried and convicted of embezzlement and assault by military courts.

In other cases the High Court was more tolerant of civil rights deprivations under martial law. In Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81, 63 S. Ct. 1375, 87 L. Ed. 1774 (1943), the Court upheld a curfew placed on Japanese Americans during the war, on the ground of military necessity, and in Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, 65 S. Ct. 193, 89 L. Ed. 194 (1944), the Court justified the random internment (imprisonment) of over 110,000 Japanese Americans during the war.

At least one governor has used martial law to enforce state agency regulations. In 1931 Governor Ross S. Sterling, of Texas, sent Texas National Guard troops into east Texas oil fields to force compliance with limits on the production of oil and an increase in the minimum number of acres required between oil wells. The regulations had been drawn up by the Texas Railroad Commission with the approval of the Texas Legislature, but similar regulations had been enjoined (stopped) by a federal court just four months earlier. In 1932 the Supreme Court invalidated Sterling's use of martial law, holding that it violated the constitutional due process rights of the property owners (Sterling v. Constantin, 287 U.S. 378, 53 S. Ct. 190, 77 L. Ed. 375 [1932]).

Another governor declared martial law in response to an assassination and rumors of political corruption. In June 1954 Albert Patterson, a nominee for state attorney general in Alabama, was shot to death on a street in Phenix City. Governor Gordon Persons, of Alabama, declared martial law in Phenix City, and dispatched General Walter J. ("Crack") Hanna and the Alabama National Guard to take over the city. Hanna appointed a military mayor, and the troops took control of the county courthouse and city hall. The troops physically removed certain officials from the courthouse and city hall, seized gambling equipment, and revoked liquor licenses.

Martial law usually is used to try to restore and maintain peace during civil unrest. It does not always yield the desired results. In May 1970, for example, Governor James Rhodes, of Ohio, declared limited martial law by sending in National Guard troops to contain a protest of the Vietnam War at Kent State University. Four protestors were shot and killed by the troops. In a case brought by their survivors, the Supreme Court held that the governor and other state officials could be sued if they acted beyond the scope of state laws and the federal Constitution (Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S. Ct. 1683, 40 L. Ed. 2d 90 [1974]).

Martial law is generally a last resort. Courts will uphold a decision to use troops only if it was necessary and proper.

See: Japanese American Evacuation Cases; Korematsu v. United States; Military Law; Military Occupation; Militia; Milligan, Ex Parte; National Guard.

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For a list of words related to martial law, see:

Forms, Systems, and Philosophies - martial law: temporary suspension of law and use of military to maintain order during emergency
Decisions, Judgments, and Conditions - martial law: suspension of judicial procedures and imposition of military rule by executive branch of government in emergency circumstance

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

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Not to be confused with Marital law.

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis—(usually) only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively (e.g., maintain order and security, and provide essential services), when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law becomes widespread. In most cases, military forces are deployed to quiet the crowds, to secure government buildings and key or sensitive locations, and to maintain order.^[1] Generally, military personnel replace civil authorities and perform some or all of their functions. In full-scale martial law, the highest-ranking military officer would take over, or be installed, as the military governor or as head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.^[1]

Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public. Such incidents may occur after a coup d'état (Thailand 2006); when threatened by popular protest (China, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989); to suppress political opposition (Poland in 1981); to stabilize insurrections or perceived insurrections (Canada, The October Crisis of 1970). Martial law may be declared in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct, such as a "state of emergency".

Martial law has also been imposed during conflicts and in cases of occupations, where the absence of any other civil government provides for an unstable population. Examples of this form of military rule include post World War II reconstruction in Germany and Japan as well as the southern reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War.

Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunal (court-martial).

By country

Bahrain

See: 2011 Bahraini uprising

Canada

Egypt

Martial law in Egypt: Egyptian flagged tanks man an apparent checkpoint just outside the midtown Tahrir area during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

In Egypt, a State of Emergency has been in effect almost continuously since 1967. Following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981, state of emergency was declared. Egypt has been under state of emergency ever since; the Parliament has renewed the emergency laws every three years since they were imposed. The legislation was last extended in 2003 and was due to expire at the end of May 2006; plans were in place to replace it with new anti-terrorism laws, but after the Dahab bombings in April of that year, state of emergency was renewed for another two years.^[3]^[4] In May 2008 there was a further extension to June 2010.^[5] In May 2010, the state of emergency was further extended, albeit with a promise from the government to be applied only to 'Terrorism and Drugs' suspects. State of Emergency gives military courts the power to try civilians and allows the government to detain for renewable 45-day periods and without court orders anyone deemed to be threatening state security. Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation. On 10 Feb 2011, the ex-president of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak) promised the deletion of the relevant constitutional article that gives legitimacy to State of Emergency in an attempt to please the mass number of protesters that demanded him to resign. On 11 Feb 2011, the ex-president stepped down and the Vice President Omar Suleiman de facto introduced the country to Martial Law when transferring all civilian powers from the presidential institution to the military institution. It meant that the presidential executive powers, the parliamentary legislative powers and the judicial powers all transferred directly into the military system which may delegate powers back and forth to any civilian institution within its territory. Under Martial Law the source of power is not the people, not the parliament, not the constitution, not a Holy Text, but solely the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The military issued in its third announcement the "end of the State of Emergency as soon as order is restored in Egypt". Before Martial law, the Egyptian parliament under the constitution had the civilian power to declare a State of Emergency. When in Martial law, the military gained all powers of the state, including to dissolve the parliament and suspend the constitution as it did in its fifth announcement. Under Martial law, the only legal framework within the Egyptian territory is the numbered announcements from the military. These announcements could for instance order any civilian laws to come back into force. The military announcements (communiques) are the de facto only current constitution and legal framework for the Egyptian territory. It means that all affairs of the entire state are bound by the Geneva Conventions.

Iran

A classic case of a full-blown martial law in recent history took place in Iran in 1978. On September 7, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, appointed the chief of army staff, General Gholam Ali Oveisi as the military governor of the capital city, Tehran.^[6] The army divisions took position in key locations in the city. (Martial law was also declared in some other cities.) On September 8, the army opened fire on protesters, killing somewhere from 300 to 4000 (estimates vary). The day is often referred to as Black Friday. Unable to control the unrest, Shah dissolved the civil government headed by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami on November 6, and appointed General Gholam Reza Azhari as the prime minister. Azhari’s military government also failed to bring order to the country. As a last-ditch effort, as he was preparing to leave the country, Shah dissolved the military government and appointed Shapour Bakhtiar, a reformist critic of his rule, as the new prime minister on January 4, 1979. Bakhtiar’s government fell on February 11, and with it, the history of over two thousand years of monarchy in Iran came to an end.^[6]

Ireland

During the Easter Rising in 1916, Lord Wimborne, a cousin of Winston Churchill and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, declared martial law to maintain order in the streets of Dublin. This was later extended both in duration and geographical reach to the whole of the country with the consent of the British government. Much of Ireland was declared under martial law by the British authorities during the Irish War of Independence. A large portion of Ireland was also under de facto martial law during the Irish Civil War.

Israel

Military administrative government was in effect from 1949 to 1966 over some geographical areas of Israel having large Arab populations, primarily the Negev, Galilee, and the Triangle. The residents of these areas were subject to a number of controlling measures that amounted to martial law.^[7]^[8] Permits from the military governor had to be procurred to travel more than a given distance from a person's registered place of residence, and curfew, administrative detentions, and expulsions were common.^[7] Although the military administration was officially for geographical areas, and not people, its restrictions were seldom enforced on the Jewish residents of these areas. In the 1950s, martial law ceased to be in effect for those Arab citizens living in predominantly Jewish cities, but remained in place in all Arab localities within Israel until 1966. The West Bank is under Israeli martial law since 1967 to present, and Gaza Strip was under martial law until 2005, the Syrian Golan Heights was also under Israeli martial law, but after the Golan Heights law was passed the territory has been under Israeli civil law.^[7]

During the 2006 Lebanon war, martial law was declared by Defense Minister Amir Peretz over the north of the country. The Israel Defense Forces were granted the authority to issue instructions to civilians, and to close down offices, schools, camps and factories in cities considered under threat of attack, as well as to impose curfews on cities in the north.^[9]

Instructions of the Home Front Command are obligatory under martial law, rather than merely recommended.^[9] The order signed by Peretz was in effect for 48 hours^[9] and was extended by the Cabinet and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the war's duration.^{[citation needed]}

Pakistan

Martial law has been declared in Pakistan four times. On 7 October 1958, President Iskander Mirza staged a coup d'état. He abrogated the constitution, imposed martial law and appointed General Muhammad Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and Aziz Ahmad as Secretary General and Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator. However, three weeks later General Ayub—who had been openly questioning the authority of the government prior to the imposition of martial law—deposed Iskandar Mirza on 27 October 1958 and assumed the presidency that practically formalized the militarization of the political system in Pakistan.[6] Four years later a new document, Constitution of 1962 was adopted. The second martial law was imposed on 25 March 1969, when President Ayub Khan abrogated the Constitution of 1962 and handed over power to the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan. On assuming the presidency, General Yahya Khan acceded to popular demands by abolishing the one-unit system in West Pakistan and ordered general elections on the principle of one man one vote. the third was imposed by the [General Zia] in 5 July 1979 After several tumultuous years, which witnessed the secession of East Pakistan, politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over in 1971 as the first civilian martial law administrator in recent history, imposing selective martial law in areas hostile to his rule, such as the country's largest province, Balochistan. Following widespread civil disorder, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto and imposed martial law in its totality on July 5, 1977, in a bloodless coup d'état. Unstable areas were brought under control through indirect military action, such as Balochistan under Martial Law Governor, General Rahimuddin Khan. Civilian government resumed in 1988 following General Zia's death in an aircraft crash.

On October 12, 1999, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was dissolved, and the Army took control once more. But no martial law was imposed. General Pervez Musharraf took the title of Chief Executive until the President of Pakistan Rafiq Tarar resigned and General Musharraf became President. Elections were held in October 2002 and Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Jamali premiership was followed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz. While the government was supposed to be run by the elected Prime Minister, there was a common understanding that important decisions were made by the President General Musharraf.

On November 3, 2007, President General Musharraf declared the state of emergency in the country which is claimed to be equivalent to the state of martial law as the constitution of Pakistan of 1973, was suspended, and the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court were fired.

On November 12, 2007, Musharraf issued some amendments in the Military Act, which gave the armed forces some additional powers.

Philippines

Main article: Martial Law in the Philippines

President of the Philippines Jose P. Laurel of the wartime Second Philippine Republic (puppet-government under Japan) placed the Philippines under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated September 21. Martial law came into effect on September 22, 1944, at 9:00 am. Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom. This took effect on September 23, 1944 at 10:00 am.

The country was under martial law again from 1972 to 1981 under the authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Proclamation No. 1081 (Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines) was signed on September 21, 1972 and came into force on September 22 - exactly 28 years after similar proclamations by President Laurel. Martial law was declared to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of communist takeover following a series of bombings and a government-staged assassination attempt on the Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in Manila. The declaration of martial law was initially well-received by some sectors, but it eventually proved unpopular as excesses and human rights abuses by the military emerged, such as the use of torture as a method of extracting information. The well-known People Power Revolution of 1986 took place because of the many violated rights and abuse of authority of Marcos. The People Power Revolution eventually ousted Marcos, and he fled to Hawaii where he died in exile in 1989.

There were rumours that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was planning to impose martial law to put an end to military coup plots, general civilian dissatisfaction, and criticism of the legitimacy of her presidency due to dubious election results. Instead, a "State of National Emergency" was imposed to crush a coup plot and to tackle protesters which lasted from February 24, 2006 until March 3 of the same year.

On December 4, 2009, through Proclamation No. 1959, President Macapagal-Arroyo has officially placed Maguindanao province under a state of martial law.^[10] The declaration also suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province.^[11] The announcement was made days after hundreds of government troops were sent to the province, which would later raid armories of the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuan family was implicated in the massacre that saw the murder of 57 persons, including women members of the rival Mangudadatu clan, human rights lawyers, and 31 media workers, in the worst incident of political violence in the nation's history. It has also been condemned worldwide as the worst loss of life of media professionals in one day in the history of journalism.^[12]

Poland

Main article: Martial law in Poland

Martial law was introduced in Communist Poland on December 13, 1981 by Generals Czesław Kiszczak and Wojciech Jaruzelski to prevent democratic opposition from gaining popularity and political power in the country. Thousands of people linked to democratic opposition, including Lech Wałęsa, were arbitrarily arrested and detained. About 100 deaths are attributed to the martial law, including 9 miners shot by the police during the pacification of striking Wujek Coal Mine. The martial law was lifted July 22, 1983. Polish society is divided in opinion on the necessity of introduction of the martial law, which is viewed by some as a lesser evil compared to alleged Soviet military intervention. The generals' trials are still in progress almost thirty years after the events.

Switzerland

There are no provisions for martial law as such in Switzerland. Under the Army Law of 1995 [4], the Army can be called upon by cantonal (state) authorities for assistance (Assistenzdienst). This regularly happens in the case of natural disasters or special protection requirements (e.g., for the World Economic Forum in Davos). This assistance generally requires parliamentary authorization, though, and takes place in the regular legal framework and under the civilian leadership of the cantonal authorities. On the other hand, the federal authorities are authorized to use the Army to enforce law and order when the Cantons no longer can or want to do so (Ordnungsdienst). With this came many significant points of reference. This power largely fell into disuse after World War II. See [5].

Taiwan

Thailand

In Thailand many coups have taken place since the 1930s, but many have failed. In January 2004, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, declared a state of martial law in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in response to the growing South Thailand insurgency. On September 19, 2006, Thailand's army declared martial law following a bloodless military coup in the Thai capital of Bangkok, declared while Prime Minister Shinawatra was in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took the control of the government, and soon after handed the premiership to ex-Army Chief General Surayud. Sonthi himself is Chief of the Administrative Reform Council.

Turkey

Main article: Martial law and state of emergency in Turkey

Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 the military conducted three coups d'état and announced martial law. Martial law between 1978 and 1983 was replaced by a State of emergency that lasted until November 2002.

SFR Yugoslavia

During the Yugoslav Wars in 1991, a "State of Direct War Threat" was declared. Although forces from the whole SFRY were included in this conflict, martial law was never announced, but after secession, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declared martial law. On March 23, 1999, a "State of Direct War Threat" was declared in the Yugoslavia, following the possibility of NATO air-strikes. The day after strikes began, martial law was declared, which lasted until June 1999, although strikes ended on June 10, following Kumanovo Treaty.

United States of America

The American Revolution

As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act, one of the Intolerable Acts, which suppressed town meetings and assemblies, and imposed appointed government, tantamount to martial law.^[17]^[18]^[19]

New Orleans, Louisiana in the War of 1812

During the War of 1812, U.S. General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law in New Orleans, Louisiana before repulsing the British in the Battle of New Orleans.^[20]^[21]^[22]

Ex parte Milligan

On September 15, 1863, President Lincoln imposed Congressionally authorized martial law.^{[citation needed]} The authorizing act allowed the President to suspend habeas corpus throughout the entire United States (which he had already done under his own authority on April 27, 1861). Lincoln imposed the suspension on "prisoners of war, spies, or aiders and abettors of the enemy," as well as on other classes of people, such as draft dodgers. The President's proclamation was challenged in Ex parte Milligan, 71 US 2 [1866]). The Supreme Court ruled that Lincoln's imposition of martial law (by way of suspension of habeas corpus) was unconstitutional in areas where the local courts were still in session.

The Great Chicago Fire

In response to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago mayor Roswell B. Mason declared a state of martial law and placed General Philip Sheridan in charge of the city on October 9, 1871. After the fire was extinguished, there were no widespread disturbances and martial law was lifted within a few days.^[23]

The West Virginia Mine War

During the events of the West Virginia Mine War, martial law was declared on the state of West Virginia. At the behest of Governor Cornwell, federal troops had been dispatched to Mingo County to deal with the striking miners.^{[citation needed]}

The Territory of Hawaii

During World War II (1939 to 1945) what is now the State of Hawaii was held under martial law from December 7, 1941 to October 24, 1944.^[24]

Freedom Riders

On May 21, 1961, Governor Patterson of Montgomery, AL declared martial law. Freedom Riders

Hurricane Katrina

Contrary to many media reports at the time, martial law was not declared in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, because no such term exists in Louisiana state law. However, a State of Emergency was declared, which does give unique powers to the state government similar to those of martial law. On the evening of August 31, 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin nominally declared "martial law" and said that officers didn't have to observe civil rights and Miranda rights in stopping the looters.^[25] Federal troops were a common sight in New Orleans after Katrina. At one point, as many as 15,000 federal troops and National Guardsmen patrolled the city. Additionally it has been reported that armed contractors from Blackwater USA assisted in policing the city.^[26]

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA) Section 1031

At least two American lawmakers have stated on the record that, in their opinion, Section 1031 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 legalizes or authorizes martial law in the United States.

Senator Mark Udall (D-Colorado) stated "These provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect...Section 1031 essentially repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil."^[27]

Additional reading

Macomb, Alexander, Major General of the United States Army, The Practice of Courts Martial, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1841) 154 pages.
Macomb, Alexander, Major General of the United States Army, A Treatise on Martial Law, and Courts-Martial as Practiced in the United States. (Charleston: J. Hoff, 1809), republished (New York: Lawbook Exchange, June 2007), ISBN 1-58477-709-5, ISBN 978-1-58477-709-0, 340 pages.^[28]
Rehnquist, William H. (1998). All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime. New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-05142-1.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics / edited by Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Black's Law Dictionary : Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern / by Henry Campbell Black, St. Paul : West Pub. Co., 1979

References

^ ^a ^b "Martia Law". Sidlinger. http://sidlinger.tripod.com/ml.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
^ Françoise Dubuc. "La Loi martiale telle qu'imposée au Québec en 1837 et en 1838", in Les Patriotes de 1837@1838, May 20, 2000, retrieved May 10, 2009
^ Simon Apiku. Egypt to lift 25-year-old emergency laws. Middle East On-line, 23 March 2006.[1]
^ Joelle Bassoul. Egypt renews state of emergency for two years. Middle East On-line, 1 May 2005. [2]
^ Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani. EGYPT: Despair Over Two More Years of Martial Law.Inter Press Service News Agency. [3]
^ ^a ^b "The Iranian Revolution". MacroHistory: World History. http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch29ir.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
^ ^a ^b ^c Valerie Féron (2001). Palestine(s): Les déchirures. Paris, Editions du Felin. ISBN 2866453913.
^ Bassma Kodmani-Darwish (1997). La Diaspora Palestinienne. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. ISBN 2130484867.
^ ^a ^b ^c Yaakov Katz and Amir Mizroch (15 July 2006). "Martial Law Declared in the North". http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886008109&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull.
^ name="gmanews.tv">http://www.gmanews.tv/story/178575/arroyo-declares-martial-law-in-maguindanao
^ http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091205-240233/Martial-law-declared-in-Maguindanao
^ http://www.gmanews.tv/story/178575/arroyo-declares-martial-law-in-maguindanao
^ United States Northern Command website
^ Martial Law at US Constitution online
^ Remarks Of Sen. Patrick Leahy, National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2007
^ Defense Authorization Act of 2008
^ colonial-america.suite101.com/article.cfm/law-that-started-the-american-revolution
^ "Governors or Generals?: A Note on Martial Law and the Revolution of 1689 in English America", Ian Steele, The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr., 1989), pp. 304-314
^ "Home > Boston Tea Party > A Tea Party Timeline: 1773-1775", Old South Meeting House
^ "The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law", Matthew Warshauer, Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Summer, 1998), pp. 261-291
^ "A National Hero, the Battle of New Orleans", Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
^ "Book Review: Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law: Nationalism, Civil Liberties, and Partisanship.", American Historical Review, December 2007
^ Morris, Roy, Jr., Sheridan: The Life and Wars of General Phil Sheridan, Crown Publishing, 1992, pp. 335-8. ISBN 0-517-58070-5.
^ http://cup.columbia.edu/media/5004/robinson-tragedy.pdf
^ Martial law was also not declared in the State of Mississippi, although after briefly passing through Buruas, LA Hurricane Katrina actually made landfall in Mississippi resulting in near total destruction from state line to state line and a death toll in the hundreds. Federal troops as well as numerous other law enforcement agencies around the country were brought in to help but martial law was never declared. Foster, Mary; AP contributions (2010-08-27). "NOPD says feds probing order to shoot looters". WWLTV. http://www.wwltv.com/news/NOPD-says-feds-probing-order-to-shoot-looters-101661588.html. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
^ Blackwater: Shadow Army by Jeremy Scahill Discussion begins at 3:40 in the clip.
^ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/270213/20111220/ndaa-2012-ron-paul-martial-law.htm
^ Macomb on Martial Law and Courts Martial.

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