Dunmore's Proclamation declaring Martial law in the Colony of Virginia, proclaimed May 27, 1775, several months after the beginning of the American Revolutionary War
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of
normal civilian functions by a government, especially in response to a
temporary emergency such as invasion or major disaster, or in an occupied territory.
Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over
the public, as seen in multiple countries listed below. Such incidents
may occur after a coup d'état (Thailand in 2006 and 2014, and Egypt in 2013); when threatened by popular protest (China, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, 2009's Iranian Green Movement
that led to the takeover by Revolutionary Guards); to suppress
political opposition (Poland in 1981); or 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, the recovery and reconstruction of the former Confederate States of America during Reconstruction Era in the United States of America following the American Civil War, and German occupation of northern France between 1871 and 1873 after the Treaty of Frankfurt ended the Franco-Prussian War.
Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews; the suspension of civil law, civil rights, and 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
Australia
The Black War
was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and
Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. With an
escalation of violence in the late 1820s, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur declared martial law in November 1828—effectively providing legal immunity for killing Aboriginal people. It would remain in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history.
Brunei
Brunei has been under a martial law since a rebellion occurred on 8 December 1962 known as the Brunei Revolt and was put down by British troops from Singapore. The Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, is presently the head of state and also the Minister of Defense and Commander in Chief of Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
Canada
The War Measures Act was a Government of Canada statute
that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers,
stopping short of martial law, i.e. the military does not administer
justice, which remains in the hands of the courts. The Act has been
invoked three times: During World War I, World War II, and the October Crisis of 1970. In 1988, the War Measures Act was replaced by the Emergencies Act.
During the colonial era, martial law was proclaimed and applied in the territory of the Province of Quebec during the invasion of Canada by the army of the American Continental Congress in 1775–1776. It was also applied twice in the territory of Lower Canada during the 1837–1838 insurrections. On December 5, following the events of November 1837, martial law was proclaimed in the district of Montréal by Governor Gosford, without the support of the Legislative Assembly in the Parliament of Lower Canada.
It was imposed until April 27, 1838. Martial law was proclaimed a
second time on November 4, 1838, this time by acting Governor John Colborne, and was applied in the district of Montreal until August 24, 1839.
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, a 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 extended
in 2003 and were 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. In May 2008 there was a further extension to June 2010.
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.
A 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
February 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 February 2011,
the 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.
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 state are bound by the Geneva Conventions.
Iceland
The Icelandic constitution provides no mechanism for the declaration of war, martial law nor state of emergency.
Indonesia
On May 18, 2003, during a military activity in Aceh, under the order of the president, Indonesian Army Chief imposed martial law for a period of six months to offensively eliminate the Acehnese separatists.
Iran
On September
7, 1978, in response to public demonstrations protesting the perceived
government involvement in the death of the son of Ayatollah Khomeini, Mostafa Khomeini, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi appointed Chief of Army Staff General Gholam Ali Oveisi as the military governor of the capital city of Tehran.
On September 8, the government effectively declared martial law on the
capital along with several other cities throughout the country, after
which further protests erupted that lead to the army opening fire on a
group of protesters in Tehran's Jaleh Square on the same day. Estimates
on the number of casualties vary; However, according to Iranian human
rights activist Emadeddin Baghi, the number of people killed was 88 of which 64 were gunned down in Jaleh Square. The day is often referred to as Black Friday. Unable to control the unrest, the 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 whom ultimately failed in his efforts to restore
order to the country. As he was preparing to leave the country, the 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 gave rise to the
Islamic Republic and the creation of a new constitution.
Article 79 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran forbids the proclamation of martial law without the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
Ireland
In 1916, during the Easter Rising, Lord Wimborne the 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.
The current Irish Constitution allows for martial law if the
government declares a state of emergency, however capital punishment is
prohibited in all circumstances, including a state of emergency.
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 martial law. The Israeli army enforced strict residency rules. Any Arab not registered in a census taken during November 1948 was deported.
Permits from the military governor had to be procured to travel more
than a given distance from a person's registered place of residence, and
curfew, administrative detentions, and expulsions were common.
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.
Following the 1967 war, in which the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip,
Golan Heights in Syria, and Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, martial law over
the Palestinian population as well as the Jordanian, Syrian, and
Egyptian populations in these areas was put in place. In 1993, Israel
agreed to give autonomy to the people of Gaza and disengaged militarily
from Gaza from 2005 until 2007, when a military blockade was put in
place on Gaza in response to the election of Hamas to the local
government.
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.
Instructions of the Home Front Command are obligatory under martial law, rather than merely recommended. The order signed by Peretz was in effect for 48 hours and was extended by the Cabinet and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the war's duration.
Mauritius
Mauritius
is known as being a "Westminster" style of democracy but a peculiar
system that was imposed in Mauritius during a period of civil unrest in
1968 as an emergency measure, has never been repealed and is still used
by the police force there to this day.
The system, which has no apparent foundation in the constitution of
Mauritius, enables the police to arrest without having to demonstrate
reasonable suspicion that a crime has been carried out but simply on the
submission of "provisional information" to the magistrate. The accused
is then placed on remand or bail and required to report to the police or
the court on a regular basis, sometimes every day. There are examples
of this system being used to intimidate or coerce individuals in civil
litigations.
Pakistan
Martial law was declared in Pakistan
on 7 October 1958, by President Iskander Mirza who then 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 before 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. 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 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first civilian
to hold this post in Pakistan after the Bangladesh Liberation War. On 21
December 1971, Bhutto took this post as well as that of President.
The fourth was imposed by the General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 5 July 1977. 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 Zia 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
During the Second World War, President José P. Laurel placed the Philippines (then a client state of Imperial Japan) under martial law via Proclamation № 29, dated 21 September 1944 and enforced the following day at 09:00 PST. Proclamation № 30 was issued on 23 September, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom, effective 10:00 that day.
The country was under martial law again from 1972 to 1981 under President Ferdinand Marcos. Proclamation № 1081
("Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines") was signed on
21 September 1972 and came into force on 22 September. The official
reason behind the declaration was to suppress increasing civil strife
and the threat of a communist takeover, particularly after a series of bombings (including the Plaza Miranda bombing) and an assassination attempt on Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in Mandaluyong.
The policy of martial law was initially well received, but it eventually proved unpopular as the military's human rights abuses (e.g. use of torture in intelligence gathering, forced disappearances),
along with the decadence and excess of the Marcos family and their
allies, had emerged. Coupled with economic downturns, these factors
fermented dissent in various sectors (e.g. the urban middle class) that crystallised with the assassination of jailed oppositionist senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983, and widespread fraud in the 1986 snap elections. These eventually led to the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos and forced him into exile in Hawaii where he died in 1989; his rival presidential candidate and Aquino's widow, Corazon, was installed as his successor.
During this 9-year period, curfews were implemented as a safety
measure. Majority of radio and television networks were suspended.
Journalists who were accused of speaking against the government were
taken as political prisoners, some of them to be physically abused and
tortured by the authorities.
Others have stated that the implementation of Martial Law was
taken advantage by the Marcos regime. Billion pesos worth of property
and ill-gotten wealth was said to be acquired by Marcos' consort, First Lady Imelda Marcos. This alleged money laundering issue was brought back recently, particularly in the PiliPinas Debates 2016
for the recently held Philippine Presidential Elections on May 9, 2016.
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., Marcos' son, ran for the Vice
Presidency and lost.
There were rumours that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was planning to impose martial law to end military coup d'etat plots, general civilian dissatisfaction, and criticism of her legitimacy arising from the dubious results of the 2004 presidential elections. Instead, a State of National Emergency was imposed in 2006 from 24 February to 3 March, in order to quash a coup attempt and quell protesters.
On 4 December 2009, President Arroyo officially placed the Province of Maguindanao under a state of martial law through Proclamation № 1959. As with the last imposition, the declaration suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province.
The announcement came days after hundreds of government troops were
sent to the province to raid the armories of the powerful Ampatuan clan.
The Ampatuans were implicated in the massacre of 58 persons, including women from the rival Mangudadatu clan,
human rights lawyers, and 31 media workers. Cited as one of the
bloodiest incidents of political violence in Philippine history, the
massacre was condemned worldwide as the worst loss of life of media
professionals in one day.
On 23 May 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law throughout the main southern island of Mindanao, through Proclamation No. 216, due to the attack of Maute Group in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. It was announced in a briefing in Moscow by Secretary Ernesto Abella,[21] and will be in effect until December 2019.
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.
South Korea
In October 1946, United States Army Military Government in Korea declared martial law as a result of the Daegu Riot.
On November 17, 1948, President Syngman Rhee regime proclaimed a martial law in order to quell the Jeju Uprising.
On April 19, 1960 Syngman Rhee government proclaimed a martial law in order to suppress the April Revolution.
Switzerland
There are no provisions for martial law as such in Switzerland. Under the Army Law of 1995, 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.
Syria
The martial law regime between the 1963 Syrian coup d'état and 2011 is the longest ranging period of active martial law.
Taiwan
Following World War II, the island of Taiwan came back to China's
control given the impending withdrawal of Japanese forces and colonial
government. Martial law was declared in 1949 despite the democracy
promised in the Constitution of the Republic of China (the Republic of China refused to implement the constitution on Taiwan until after 1949). After the Nationalist-led Republic of China government lost control of the mainland to the Communist Party of China
and retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the perceived need to suppress
Communist activities in Taiwan was utilised as a rationale for not
lifting martial law until thirty-eight years later in 1987, just prior
to the death of then President Chiang Ching-kuo. Taiwan's period of martial law was one of the longest in modern history, after that of Syria (1967-2011).
Thailand
Martial law in Thailand derives statutory authority from the Act promulgated by King Vajiravudh following the abortive Palace Revolt of 1912,
entitled "Martial Law, B.E. 2457 (1914)". Many coups have been
attempted or succeeded since then, but the Act governing martial law,
amended in 1942, 1944, 1959 and 1972, has remained essentially the
same. 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 City 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. At 3 am, on May 20, 2014, following seven months of civil and political unrest, Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha, declared martial law nationwide.
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
in a limited number of provinces that lasted until November 2002. On
July 15, 2016 a section of the military in Turkey attempted a
coup(failed) and said to have implied martial law in a broadcast on
their national television TRT.
Ukraine
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2018 martial law in parts of Ukraine
The restrictions from martial law were defined in a 2015 law "On the
Legal Regime of Martial Law". The president decides on the declaration
of martial law and then parliament must approve it.
On 26 November 2018, lawmakers in the Ukraine Parliament
overwhelmingly backed the imposition of martial law along Ukraine's
coastal regions and those bordering Russia and Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova which has Russian troops stationed in its territory, in response to the firing upon and seizure
of Ukrainian naval ships by Russia near the Crimean peninsula a day
earlier. A total of 276 lawmakers in Kiev backed the measure, which took
effect on 28 November 2018 and will automatically expire in 30 days.
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 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
In the United States, martial law has been used in a limited number
of circumstances, such as directly after a foreign attack, such as
Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans, after major disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 or the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, by renegade local leaders seeking to avoid arrest, such as Nauvoo, Illinois during the Illinois Mormon War, or Utah during the Utah War, or in response to chaos associated with protests and mob action, such as the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, or mob actions against the Freedom Riders.
The martial law concept in the United States is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus,
which is in essence the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or
more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement by the judiciary. The
ability to suspend habeas corpus is related to the imposition of martial law. Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution states, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus
shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion
the public Safety may require it." There have been many instances of
the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as
during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the South during the Civil Rights Movement,
but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The
distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.
In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions that were handed down between the American Civil War and World War II. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.
