Martial law – is a system of rules that take
effect if the military takes control of the normal administration
of justice.
It is sometimes imposed in response to civic emergencies or
episodes of unrest or riots, or during
wars or
in cases of
occupations in the
absence of any other civil government. Examples of this form of
military rule include Germany and Japan after World War II or the
American South during the early stages of
Reconstruction.
In
addition, it is used by governments to enforce their rule – for
example, after a coup d'état
(Thailand 2006); when
threatened by popular protests (Tiananmen Square
protests of 1989
); or to suppress the opposition (Poland in
1981). Another example would be The
October Crisis which took place in Canada in
October 1970. Martial law can be declared in cases of major
natural disasters also; however
most countries use a different legal construct, such as a "
state of emergency".
In many countries, martial law imposes particular rules, one of
which is
curfew. Often, under this system,
the administration of
justice is left to a
military
tribunal, called a
court-martial. The suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus is likely to
occur.
Martial law across the world
Canada
The War
Measures Act was a Canadian
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.
Prior to 1867, 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.
It 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
In Egypt, a
State of Emergency
has been in effect almost continuously since 1967. Following the
assassination of
President Anwar
el-Sadat in 1981, martial law was declared. Egypt has been
under martial law 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,
martial law was renewed for another two years. In May 2008 there
was a further extension to June 2010.
Martial law 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.
Ireland
During the
Easter Rising in 1916, Lord Wimborne,
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. 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. 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.
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.
Pakistan
Martial
law has been declared in Pakistan
three
times. In the first instance President
Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution in
1958 and declared Martial Law over the country. The second instance
was when General
Yahya Khan declared
martial law in March, 1969 after Mirza's successor, General
Ayub Khan handed over power to him. the
3rd by Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
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'etat. 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 Rafiq
Tarar resigned and General Musharraf became
President. Elections were held in
October 2002 and
Mir Zafarullah
Khan Jamali became
Prime
Minister. 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
Parvez Musharraf.
On November 3, 2007, President General
Pervez 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, President General
Pervez Musharraf issued some amendments in
the Military Act, which gave the Armed forces some additional
powers.
Philippines
President Jose P. Laurel of the
wartime Second 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 9am. 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
Jose P.
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 then Defence 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 incumbent 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.
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 as a lesser evil compared to
alleged Soviet
military
intervention. Generals' legal trials are still in progress
after 25 years from the events.
Switzerland
There are
no provisions for martial law as such in Switzerland
. Under the
Army Law of 1995
[8120], 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). This power largely fell into disuse
after
World War II.
See [8121].
Taiwan
After the
Republic of
China
gained control of Taiwan
following
World War II, the distinction of having the longest period of
martial law in modern history was imposed on Taiwan. In the
aftermath of the
2-28 Incident of
1947, martial law was declared in 1948. After the
Kuomintang-led Republic of China government lost
control of its possessions in mainland Asia to the
Communist Party of China and
retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the perceived need to suppress
Communist activities in Taiwan meant that the martial law was not
lifted until 1987.
Thailand
In
Thailand
many coups have taken place since the 1930s, but
many have failed.In January 2004, the former 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 The Prime Minister Thaksin 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
Since the
foundation of the Republic of Turkey
in 1923 the
military conducted three
coup d'étas and announced martial
law. Martial law between 1978 and 1983 was replaced by a
State of emergency that lasted
until November 2002.
FR Yugoslavia
During the
Yugoslav Wars in 1991, it
was declared "State of Direct War Threat".
Although forces from
whole SFRY
were
included in this conflict, martial law was never announced, but
after secession, Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
declared Martial law. In March 23,
1999,
"State of Direct War Threat" was declared in
Yugoslavia, following possibility of
NATO
air-strikes. Day after, when strikes had
begun, Martial law has been declared, and it had duration until
June 15, that year, although strikes ended
on
June 10, following
Kumanovo agreement.
United States of America
The martial law concept in the U.S. 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 often equated with martial law.
Article 1, Section 9 of the
U.S.
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."
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. On October 1, 2002
United States Northern
Command was established to provide command and control of
Department of Defense homeland defense efforts and to coordinate
defense support of civil authorities..
On June 15, 1995, Norman Olson, along with militia leaders from
other states, testified before the
United States Senate
Subcommittee on Terrorism. Olson's opening statement included
the following:
One other important point needs to be
made.
Since The Constitution is the limiting document upon
the government, the government cannot become greater than the
granting power.
That is, the
servant cannot become greater than its master. Therefore, should
the chief executive or the other branchof government or all
branches together act to suspend The Constitution under a rule of
martial law, allpower granted to government would be cancelled and
differed back to the granting power. That is the people.
And I'll conclude with this statement:
Martial law shall NOT be possible in this country as long as the
people recognize the bill of rights as inalienable.
Ex parte Milligan
On September 15, 1863, President
Lincoln imposed Congressionally-authorized
martial law. The authorizing act allowed the President to suspend
habeas corpus throughout the entire United States. 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.
The
National Guard is
an exception, since unless federalized, they are under the control
of state governors. This was changed briefly: Public Law 109-364,
or the "
John Warner Defense
Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122), was signed by
President Bush on October 17, 2006, and
allowed the President to declare a "public emergency" and station
troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National
Guard units without the consent of the governor or local
authorities. Title V, Subtitle B, Part II, Section 525(a) of the
JWDAA of 2007 reads "The [military] Secretary [of the Army, Navy or
Air Force] concerned may order a member of a reserve component
under the Secretary's jurisdiction to active duty...The training or
duty ordered to be performed...may include...support of operations
or missions undertaken by the member's unit at the request of the
President or
Secretary of Defense."
The President signed the Defense Authorization Act of 2008 on January 13, 2008. However, Section 1068 in the enacted 2008 defense authorization bill (H.R. 4986: "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008") repealed this section of PL 109-364.
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
after capturing the encampment of New Orleans from
the British in the Battle of New Orleans
.
The American Revolution
As a
result of the Boston
Tea Party
, King George III of Britain, ordered martial law in
Boston to keep riots and protest down.
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.
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. 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.
See also "What Is Martial Law? And is
New Orleans under it?" by the Slate Explainer.
Schenectady, New York
The city
of Schenectady,
New York
, is – as of March 24, 2009 – considering disbanding
its police force and declaring martial law until it can form a new
police force. Mayor
Brian
Stratton is considering this move because the city's police
department has been filled with corruption and slammed with
allegations about its officers, ranging from drunk driving to
battery. The mayor himself does not, however, have the power to
declare martial law; this can be done only by Governor
David Paterson. "It's a contrived scenario,
but it's not beyond the realm of possibilities," the mayor
said.
See also
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 1584777095, ISBN 978-1584777090,
340 pages.
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