View source for Martial law

{{short description|Imposition of direct military control or suspension of civil law by a government}}
{{distinguish|Marital law}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
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| caption1 = Tanks during the imposition of [[martial law in Poland]], December 1981
| caption2 = [[Dunmore's Proclamation]] declaring martial law in the [[Colony of Virginia]] on 7 November 1775
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'''Martial law''' is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers.<ref name="britannica">{{Cite web |title=Martial law |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/martial-law |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties may be suspended for as long as martial law continues.<ref name="britannica"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Martial Law? Meaning, History In the U.S., and Example |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/martial-law.asp |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=Investopedia}}</ref> Most often, martial law is declared in times of war or emergencies such as civil unrest and natural disasters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=martial law |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/martial_law |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref> Alternatively, martial law may be declared in instances of [[Coup d'état|military coups d'état]].<ref>Lieber, Francis and Lieber, G. Norman. ''To Save the Country: A Lost Treatise on Martial Law''. Edited by Will Smiley and John Fabian Witt, Yale University Press, 2019. ''JSTOR'', {{doi|10.2307/j.ctvk8vz1h}}. Accessed 30 March 2023.</ref>

== Overview ==
Despite the fact that it has been declared frequently throughout history, martial law is still often described as largely elusive as a legal entity.<ref name="Moore2017">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Cameron |title=Crown and Sword: Executive power and the use of force by the Australian Defence Force |publisher=[[ANU Press]] |date=9 November 2017 |isbn=978-1-76046-155-3 |doi=10.22459/cs.11.2017 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Across history, the phrase "martial law" has been used to refer to a "wide variety of actions, practices, or roles for the military", and thus lacked (and currently lacks) a concrete definition.<ref>{{cite web | title=Martial Law, Explained &#124; Brennan Center for Justice | date=20 August 2020 | url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/martial-law-explained }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Martial Law in the United States: Its Meaning, Its History, and Why the President Can't Declare It &#124; Brennan Center for Justice | url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/martial-law-united-states-its-meaning-its-history-and-why-president-cant }}</ref><ref>{{citation|title= Duncan v. Kahanamoku, 327 U.S. 304 (1946)|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/327/304/|quote= If a power thus to obliterate the judicial system of Hawaii can be found at all in the Organic Act, it must be inferred from § 67's provision for placing the Territory under "martial law." But the term "martial law" carries no precise meaning. The Constitution does not refer to "martial law" at all, and no Act of Congress has defined the term. It has been employed in various ways by different people and at different times. By some, it has been identified as "military law" limited to members of, and those connected with, the armed forces}}</ref> References to martial law date back to 1628 England, when [[Matthew Hale (jurist)|Sir Matthew Hale]] described martial law as, "no Law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a Law."<ref name="Moore2017" /> Despite being centuries old, this quote remains true in many countries around the world today. Most often, the implementation of martial law arises from necessity rather than legal right, and while some countries have provisions explicitly permitting the use of martial law, many do not.<ref name="Moore2017" /> For countries that do not explicitly permit the declaration of martial law, but where martial law has been declared, the legal justification for it is often the common law [[doctrine of necessity]], or some variation of it.

=== Common law doctrine of necessity and martial law ===
One legal theory most frequently associated with martial law is the common law doctrine of necessity.<ref name="Moore2017" /> While many countries, the United States for example, do not have the explicit constitutional right to declare martial law, scholars often interpret the law of the United States to allow for the implementation of martial law in times of necessity.<ref name="brennancenter">{{Cite web |title=Guide to Declarations of Martial Law in the United States {{!}} Brennan Center for Justice |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/guide-declarations-martial-law-united-states |access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref> Countries such as Pakistan have implemented this rationale as well.<ref>Mark M. Stavsky, ''The Doctrine of Necessity in Pakistan'', 16 Cornell Int. L. J. 2 (1983) https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1128&context=cilj.</ref>

==Use==
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]] ([[2006 Thai coup d'état|Thailand in 2006]] and [[2014 Thai coup d'état|2014]], and [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état|Egypt in 2013]]); when threatened by popular protest (China, [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]); to suppress political opposition ([[Martial law in Poland|martial law in Poland in 1981]]); or to stabilize insurrections or perceived insurrections. Martial law may be declared in cases of major [[natural disaster]]s; however, most countries use a different legal construct, such as a [[state of emergency]].{{fact|date=September 2025}}

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 the [[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 (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]] ended the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The [[British Empire]] commonly used martial law when [[insurgencies]] occurred in its [[colonies]], such as the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|Arab Revolt]] in [[Palestine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erakat |first=Noura |title=Justice for some: law and the question of Palestine |date=2019 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-9825-9 |location=Stanford, CA |pages=41–42}}</ref>

Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies [[curfew]]s; the suspension of [[Civil law (legal system)|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]]).{{fact|date=September 2025}}

==By country==

===Armenia===
During the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]], Armenian prime minister [[Nikol Pashinyan]] declared martial law.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Safi|first=Michael|date=27 September 2020|title=Armenia imposes martial law after clashes with Azerbaijan|language=en-GB|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/27/armenia-martial-law-clashes-azerbaijan|access-date=27 September 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Australia===
The [[Black War]] was a period of violent conflict between [[1820 Settlers|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boyce |first=James |title=Van Diemen's Land |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tarto-9aKqMC |year=2010 |publisher=Black Inc. |isbn=978-1-921825-39-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tarto-9aKqMC&pg=PA266 266]}}</ref> It would remain in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in the history of the British colonies on the Australian continent. {{As of|2025}}, martial law has never been declared since [[Federation of Australia|federation]] in 1901.

=== Azerbaijan ===
During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijani president [[Ilham Aliyev]] declared martial law.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 2020 |title=Armenia, Azerbaijan Declare Martial Law After Clashes In Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-accuses-azerbaijan-of-attacking-settlements-in-disputed-nagorno-karabakh/30860288.html |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=[[RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty]]}}</ref>

=== Bahrain ===
In March 2011, King [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]] declared martial law during an [[2011 Bahraini uprising|anti-government uprising]], granting authority to the police and military to crack down on protesters.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chulov |first=Martin |date=15 March 2011 |title=Bahrain declares martial law as protesters clash with troops |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/15/bahrain-martial-law-protesters-troops |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> It was lifted on 1 June amid a continuing crackdown on the uprising.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zoepf |first=Katherine |date=2 June 2011 |title=Bahrain Ends Martial Law but Renews Crackdown on Protests |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/world/middleeast/02bahrain.html |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Bangladesh===
Bangladesh has been under martial law several times. In the late 1970s after [[Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman|Mujib was assassinated]], martial law was declared temporarily under Chief Martial Law administrators including [[Ziaur Rahman]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/118052/|title=BANGLADESH: PRESIDENT ZIAUR RAHMAN WINS OVERWHELMING REFERENDUM SUPPORT FOR MARTIAL LAW RULE|access-date=26 December 2024|website=[[British Pathé]]|year=1977}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/28/archives/after-18-months-of-nearly-absolute-rule-bangladeshs-leader-is.html|title=After 18 Months of Nearly Absolute Rule, Bangladesh's Leader Is Holding Plebiscite|date=28 May 1977|access-date=26 December 2024|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> and [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]] declared martial law in the early 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-86655|title=What the verdict was|date=4 May 2009 |access-date=15 November 2024|work=[[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/forty-years-ago-bangladesh-martial-law-7836689/|title=March 26, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Bangla martial law|date=26 March 2022 |access-date=15 November 2024|url-access=registration|work=[[The Indian Express]]}} (Premium Article)</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/14/general-hussain-muhammad-ershad-obituary|title=General Hussain Muhammad Ershad obituary|date=14 July 2019 |access-date=15 November 2024|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

===Canada===
{{See also|War Measures Act}}

The ''War Measures Act'' was a [[Parliament of Canada]] [[statute]] that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers, stopping short of martial law, i.e., the military did not administer justice, which remained in the hands of the courts. The act was 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]]'', which saw its first invocation in February 2022 amidst the [[Canada convoy protest|Freedom Convoy protests]].

During the [[British Empire|colonial era]], martial law was proclaimed and applied in the territory of the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]] during the [[Invasion of Canada (1775)|invasion of Canada]] by the [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] in 1775–1776. It was also applied twice in the [[Lower Canada|Province of Lower Canada]] during the [[Lower Canada Rebellion|1837–1838 insurrections]]. On 5 December, following the events of November 1837, martial law was proclaimed in the district of [[Montreal]] by Governor [[Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford|Gosford]], without the support of the [[Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada]]. It was imposed until 27 April 1838. Martial law was proclaimed a second time on 4 November 1838, this time by acting Governor [[John Colborne]], and was applied in the district of Montreal until 24 August 1839.<ref>Françoise Dubuc. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080125144343/http://cgi2.cvm.qc.ca/glaporte/1837.pl?out=article&pno=analyse56 La Loi martiale telle qu'imposée au Québec en 1837 et en 1838]", in ''Les Patriotes de 1837@1838'', 20 May 2000, retrieved 10 May 2009</ref>

===China===
{{further|Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|Martial law in Taiwan|White Terror (Taiwan)}}
In China, martial law in the [[Beiyang government]] could be dated back to the final year of the [[Qing dynasty]]. The outline of a 1908 draft constitution—modeled on [[Japan]]'s [[Meiji Constitution]]—included provisions for martial law. The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)|Provisional Government of the Republic of China]] promulgated the [[Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China|Provisional Constitution]] in March 1911, which authorized the [[President of the Republic of China|President]] to declare martial law in times of emergency. The ''Martial Law Declaration Act'' were issued by the [[Nationalist Government]] later in 1920s and amended in 1940s. Following [[World War II]], the island of Taiwan came back to [[Republic of China (1912-1949)|China]]'s control given the impending withdrawal of [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese forces]] and [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|colonial government]]. Martial law was declared first in 1947 in [[Taiwan Province]] after the [[February 28 incident]], then again in 1949 as the [[Chinese Civil War]] was also raging across the country despite the democracy promised in the [[Constitution of the Republic of China]] (the central government refused to implement the constitution on Taiwan until after 1949).

After the [[Kuomintang|Nationalist]]-led central government of China lost control of the mainland to the [[Chinese Communist Party]] 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).<ref name="reuters20110421" />

Martial law was [[June 4 martial law|imposed]] in [[Beijing]] in 1989 following the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]] by the Communist-ruled government on mainland China.

===Egypt===
{{See also|Emergency law in Egypt}}[[File:Outside midtown of Tahrir area, Cairo during martial law, 4 February 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Martial law in Egypt: Egyptian tanks used in a checkpoint near midtown Tahrir during the [[2011 Egyptian revolution]].]]
In Egypt, [[Emergency law in Egypt|states of emergency]] were in effect almost continuously from 1967 to 2021. 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.

During [[Hosni Mubarak]]'s presidency, parliament had renewed 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. After the [[2006 Dahab bombings|Dahab bombings]] in April of that year, it was renewed for another two years.<ref>Simon Apiku. Egypt to lift 25-year-old emergency laws. ''Middle East On-line'', 23 March 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/egypt/?id%3D16072 |title=Middle East Online |access-date=2006-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824203620/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/egypt/?id=16072 |archive-date=2006-08-24 }}</ref><ref>Joelle Bassoul. Egypt renews state of emergency for two years. ''Middle East On-line'', 1 May 2005. [http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16348] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218005629/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16348|date=2015-02-18}}</ref> In May 2008 there was a further extension to June 2010.<ref>Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani. "Egypt: Despair Over Two More Years of Martial Law." ''Inter Press Service News Agency.'' {{cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews%3D42617 |title=EGYPT: Despair over Two More Years of Martial Law |access-date=2009-06-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518164448/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42617 |archive-date=2009-05-18 }}</ref> 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. On 10 February 2011, during the [[2011 Egyptian revolution|uprising against his rule]], Mubarak promised the deletion of the relevant constitutional article regarding the emergency law in an attempt to please the mass number of protesters that demanded him to resign. The following day, he stepped down and handed control of the country to the [[Supreme Council of the Armed Forces]]. It meant that the presidential executive powers, the parliamentary legislative powers and the judicial powers all transferred directly to 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 was the numbered announcements from the military. These announcements could for instance order any civilian laws to come back into force. The military announcements (communiqués) were the ''de facto'' only constitution and legal framework for the Egyptian territory. It meant that all affairs of the state were bound by the [[Geneva Conventions]].

Under the current president [[Abdel Fattah el-Sisi]], a series of [[2019 Egyptian constitutional referendum|constitutional amendments passed in 2019]] granted the military the authority to intervene in national politics to "preserve the constitution and democracy, protect the basic principles of the state and its civil nature, and protect the people's rights and freedoms". The armed forces were separately granted policing responsibilities to arrest civilians and "protect public and vital facilities".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-05 |title=Egypt's Sisi begins new term with law expanding military's power to arrest civilians |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-sisi-begins-new-term-new-law-expanding-militarys-power |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=[[Middle East Eye]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-11 |title=The Changing Role of the Egyptian Military Under el-Sisi |url=https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/the-changing-role-of-the-egyptian-military-under-el-sisi-156254 |access-date=2024-06-25 |work=[[Institute for International Political Studies]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Finland ===
The Preparedness Act (SDK 1552/2011, {{langx|fi|valmiuslaki}}) is a law in Finnish legislation, enacted in accordance with the constitutional procedure. The purpose of the Act is to give the authorities sufficient powers in times of war and other exceptional circumstances. During a state of defence (war), there is also the Defence Status Act, the provisions of which override the Preparedness Act. Together, the two laws form the Emergency Preparedness Act. The current Emergency Preparedness Act and its predecessor of the same name (1080/1991) were designed to replace the emergency provisions previously scattered over several different acts.

=== India ===
The sole mention of Martial Law in the [[Constitution of India|Indian constitution]] is in Article 34 which gives Parliament the power to indemnify persons in respect of acts done in territories where martial law was in force and to legitimize such actions. But in the text itself, there is no mention of any grants of power to declare martial law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=aironline.in |title=Martial Law in India |url=https://www.aironline.in/legal-articles/Martial%20Law%20in%20India |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=aironline.in}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of India]] in [[Puttaswamy v. Union of India]] declared that certain rights of life and liberty are [[natural law|natural rights]], which cannot be curbed by the state, but also upheld the inherent right of issuing writs by courts.<ref name="Firstpost rightful place">{{cite news |title=Supreme Court rights old judicial wrongs in landmark Right to Privacy verdict, shows State its rightful place |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/supreme-court-rights-old-judicial-wrongs-in-landmark-right-to-privacy-verdict-shows-state-its-rightful-place-3984011.html |access-date=26 September 2024 |work=Firstpost |date=29 August 2017}}</ref> As the power of martial law is given through an [[Enabling Act]] of the Parliament, it is inherently subject to the above decision. 

During the [[British Raj]], martial law was effectively declared in the [[Defence of India Act 1915|Defense of India Act, 1915]] and the [[Defence of India Act, 1939|Defense of India Act, 1939]]. It was also declared in most of the Punjab during 1919 as a response to tensions caused by the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|Amritsar Massacre]]. These tensions were caused due to the controversial [[Rowlatt Act]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=3. British India (1907-1947) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/british-india-1907-1947/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=uca.edu |language=en-US |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517174434/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/british-india-1907-1947/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sundaram |first=Chandar S. |date=March 2008 |title=Nigel Collett, The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer. London and New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2005. viii + 575 pp. {{text|ISBN}}: 1-85285-575-4. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0165115300001923 |journal=Itinerario |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=132–133 |doi=10.1017/s0165115300001923 |s2cid=162445533 |issn=0165-1153|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-24 |title=Martial Law In India – Indian Law Portal |url=https://indianlawportal.co.in/martial-law-in-india/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |archive-date=22 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241222151004/https://indianlawportal.co.in/martial-law-in-india/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Indonesia===
{{see also|2003–04 Indonesian offensive in Aceh}}
On 18 May 2003, during a military activity in [[Aceh]], under the order of the [[President of Indonesia|president]], [[Indonesian Army]] Chief imposed martial law for a period of six months to eliminate [[Acehnese people|Acehnese]] separatists.

===Iran===
On 7 September 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]].<ref name="MacroHistory: World History">{{cite web |title=The Iranian Revolution {{!}} King Pahlavi (the Shah) against Dissent |url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch29ir.html |access-date=2010-12-23 |publisher=MacroHistory: World History}}</ref> On 8 September, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emadbaghi.com/en/archives/000592.php|title=Emad Baghi :: English|website=www.emadbaghi.com}}</ref> The day is often referred to as [[Black Friday (1978)|Black Friday]]. Unable to control the unrest, the Shah dissolved the civil government headed by Prime Minister [[Jafar Sharif-Emami]] on 6 November 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 4 January 1979. Bakhtiar's government fell on 11 February and gave rise to the Islamic Republic and the creation of a new constitution.<ref name="MacroHistory: World History"/>

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]].<ref>{{Citation|year=1989|title=Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|article=Article 79|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iran_1989?lang=en#300|access-date=17 September 2017|quote=The proclamation of martial law is forbidden.}}</ref><ref name="WIPO">{{cite web |title=Iranian Constitution |url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ir/ir001en.pdf |website=WIPO |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref>

===Ireland===
In 1916, during the [[Easter Rising]], [[Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne|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 [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] 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]].

In late July 1921 Lord Cave ([[House of Lords]]) ruled on an appeal that:"...the military court, the validity of whose sentence was called into question, was a body possessing no statutory or common law authority...". The [[Court of Chancery (Ireland)]] also ruled that the [[Restoration of Order in Ireland Act 1920]] had superseded the power to declare martial law. Any sentences by military tribunals that were not in accordance with that Act were declared void.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Townshend |first1=Charles |date=1982 |title=Martial Law: Legal and Administrative Problems of Civil Emergency in Britain and the Empire, 1800-1940 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/2638811 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=187 |doi= 10.1017/S0018246X00009900|jstor=2638811 |access-date=1 August 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The current [[Constitution of Ireland|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 citizens of Israel|Arab]] populations, primarily the [[Negev]], [[Galilee]], and the [[Triangle (Israel)|Triangle]]. The residents of these areas were subject to martial law.<ref name=Feron>{{cite book|title=Palestine(s): Les déchirures|author=Valerie Féron|publisher=Paris, Editions du Felin|year=2001|isbn=2-86645-391-3}}</ref><ref name=Kodmani-Darwish>{{cite book|title=''La Diaspora Palestinienne''|author=Bassma Kodmani-Darwish|location=Paris|publisher=Presses Universitaires de France|year=1997|isbn=2-13-048486-7|author-link=Bassma Kodmani}}</ref> The [[Israel Defense Forces]] enforced strict residency rules. Any Arab not registered in a census taken during November 1948 was deported.<ref>"The authorities did not recognise the legality of residence in the country of anyone not registered during the November 1948 census and issued with an identity card or military pass. Anyone who had left the country for any reason before the census, and was not registered and in possession of a card or pass was regarded as an "absentee". If he subsequently infiltrated back into the country (including to his home village), he was regarded "as illegal" and could be summarily deported. The IDF repeatedly raided villages, sorted out legal from illegal residents and, usually, expelled the "returnees"." [[Benny Morris|Morris, Benny]] (1987) ''The birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947–1949.'' Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-33028-9}}. p. 240</ref> 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 detention]]s, and expulsions were common.<ref name=Feron/> 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 early 1950s, martial law ceased to be in effect for those Arab citizens living in predominantly Jewish cities of [[Jaffa]], [[Ramla]], and [[Lod]], constituting a total of approximately 15% of the Arab population of Israel. But military rule remained in place on the remaining Arab population elsewhere within Israel until 1966.<ref>[https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/akevot/deciphering-the-military-rule Join Akevot Research Institute in revealing the story of the Military Rule over Palestinian citizens in Israel 1948-1966]</ref>

This period is remembered for its extreme crackdown on political rights, as well as unaccountable military brutality. Most political and civil organization was prohibited. Flying of the [[Flag of Palestine|Palestinian flag]], as well as other expressions of Palestinian patriotism were prohibited. Furthermore, despite theoretical guarantee of full political rights, military government personnel frequently made threats against Arab citizens if they did not vote in elections for the candidates favored by the authorities.<ref>Raz, Adam. [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT.MAGAZINE-how-israel-tormented-arabs-in-its-first-decades-and-tried-to-cover-it-up-1.9433728 How Israel Tormented Arabs in Its First Decades – and Tried to Cover It Up] Haaretz.com. Haaretz, 9 January 2021</ref> Perhaps the most commemorated incidence of military brutality in this time period was the [[Kafr Qasim massacre]] in 1956, in which the [[Israel Border Police]] killed 48 people (19 men, 6 women and 23 children aged 8–17) as they were returning home from work in the evening. The Israeli army had ordered that all Arab villages in the proximity of the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]] be placed under curfew. However, this order came into effect before the residents of these localities, including residents of [[Kafr Qasim]], were notified.

Following the 1967 war, in which the Israeli army occupied the [[West Bank]], [[Gaza Strip]], the [[Golan Heights]] in Syria, and the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in Egypt, martial law over the [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] population as well as the Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian populations in these areas was put in place. In 1993, the [[Oslo I Accord|Oslo I]] agreements facilitated limited self-rule for Palestinians under the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. Officially, only parts of [[Area C (West Bank)|Area C]] in the West Bank are under martial law.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Cohen|first1=Amichai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eY1b5gRgjOIC&pg=PA185 |title=Israel's National Security Law: Political Dynamics and Historical Development|last2=Cohen|first2=Stuart|date=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-54914-1}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Jpost>{{cite news |first2=Amir |last2=Mizroch |last1=Katz |first1=Yaakov |date=15 July 2006 |title=Martial Law Declared in the North |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Martial-law-declared-in-the-North |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |access-date=7 June 2017}}</ref>

Instructions of the [[Home Front Command]] are obligatory under martial law, rather than merely recommended.<ref name=Jpost/> The order signed by Peretz was in effect for 48 hours<ref name=Jpost/> and was extended by the [[Cabinet of Israel|Cabinet]] and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the war's duration.{{Citation needed|date=September 2007}}

===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.<ref name="Raouf Gulbul">{{cite web |last=Curpen |first=Indradev |title=Raouf Gulbul: 'Arrest first and enquire afterwards is not consonant with the principles of Human Rights and Justice' |url=http://www.defimedia.info/news-sunday/nos-parliament/item/6065-raouf-gulbul--%E2%80%98arrest-first-and-enquire-afterwards-is-not-consonant-with-the-principles-of-human-rights-and-justice%E2%80%99.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215528/http://www.defimedia.info/news-sunday/nos-parliament/item/6065-raouf-gulbul--%E2%80%98arrest-first-and-enquire-afterwards-is-not-consonant-with-the-principles-of-human-rights-and-justice%E2%80%99.html |archive-date=2014-05-12 |publisher=Defi}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2021}}

=== Myanmar ===
On 1 February 2021, democratically elected members of Myanmar, known as the [[National League for Democracy]], were overthrown by Myanmar's military, called the [[Tatmadaw]].<ref name="Campbell2023">{{Cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Stephen |date=2023 |title=Interrogating Myanmar's 'Transition' from a Post-coup Vantage Point |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27201632 |journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1355/sj38-1a |jstor=27201632 |issn=0217-9520|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This military placed their power in a [[State Administration Council|military junta]].<ref name="hrw20230227">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-27 |title=Myanmar Junta Extends Martial Law |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/27/myanmar-junta-extends-martial-law |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=Human Rights Watch}}</ref> Five days following the coup, factory workers around Yangon (a region in Myanmar) held protests against the coup regime.<ref name="Campbell2023" /> On 14 March, security forces killed upwards of sixty-five protestors in the town of Hlaingtharyar.<ref name="hrw20230227" /> As a result, the military junta declared martial law over the region of Yangon, including over the majority of industrial zones.<ref name="hrw20230227" /> As of 22 February 2023, Myanmar's military junta has declared martial law over a total of 50 townships in the regions of Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon States, Yangon and Mandalay.<ref name="hrw20230227" /> News reports indicate that since the military coup in February 2021, and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Myanmar regions, military tribunals have sentenced more than 100 people to death.<ref name="hrw20230227" /> Reports further indicate that a total of three townships in Myanmar's northwest reside under the "executive and judicial jurisdiction of regional military commander Maj. Gen. Than Htike," who has since been sanctioned by the European Union for alleged human rights violations since Myanmar's declaration of martial law.<ref name="hrw20230227" />

===Pakistan===
{{Main|Military coups in Pakistan}}

Martial law was declared in [[Pakistan]] on 7 October 1958, by President [[Iskander Mirza]] who then appointed General [[Ayub Khan (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 by Yahya Khan, when President Yahya Khan abrogated the Constitution of 1962 and Ayub Khan handed over power to the Army Commander-in-Chief, General [[Yahya Khan|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 civilian martial law 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. It was the first civilian martial law.

The third was imposed by the General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] on 5 July 1977. After several tumultuous years, which witnessed the secession of [[East Pakistan]] to form Bangladesh, 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 (Pakistan)|Balochistan]]. Following widespread [[civil disorder]], General Zia overthrew Bhutto and imposed martial law in its totality on 5 July 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 12 October 1999, the government of Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]] was dissolved, and the Army took control once more. A fourth 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 [[Zafarullah Khan Jamali|Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali]] became [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]]. Jamali's premiership was followed by [[Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain]] and [[Shaukat Aziz]]. While the government was supposed to be run by an elected prime minister, there was a common understanding that important decisions were made by the President General Musharraf.

General Pervez Musharraf pointed out it as an emergency, not Martial Law. The Constitution, Parliament and Provincial Assemblies were suspended and Musharraf issued "Proclamation of Emergency" on 14 October 1999.

On 3 November 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 12 November 2007, Musharraf issued some amendments in the Military Act, which gave the armed forces some additional powers.

===Philippines===
{{main|Martial law in the Philippines}}
During the [[World War II in the Philippines|Second World War]], [[President of the Philippines|President]] [[Jose P. Laurel|José P. Laurel]] placed the [[Second Philippine Republic|Philippines]] (then a [[client state]] of [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]]) under martial law via Proclamation No. 29, dated 21 September 1944 and enforced the following day at 09:00 [[Philippine Standard Time|PST]]. Proclamation No. 30 was issued on 23 September, declaring the existence of a [[war|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 No. 1081]] ("Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines") was signed on 21 September 1972 and came into force on 23 September. The official reason behind the declaration was to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of a [[Communist rebellion in the Philippines|communist takeover]], particularly after a series of bombings (including the [[Plaza Miranda bombing]]) and an assassination attempt on [[Secretary of National Defense (Philippines)|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 in the Philippines|human rights]] abuses (e.g. use of [[torture]] in intelligence gathering, [[forced disappearance]]s), 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 Benigno Aquino Jr.|assassination]] of jailed oppositionist [[Senate of the Philippines|Senator]] [[Benigno Aquino Jr.]] in 1983, and widespread fraud in the [[1986 Philippine presidential election|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 Aquino|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 of the Philippines|First Lady]] [[Imelda Marcos]]. This alleged money laundering issue was brought back recently, particularly in the ''[[PiliPinas Debates 2016]]'' for the recently held [[2016 Philippine presidential election|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 Philippine presidential election|2004 presidential elections]]. Instead, a [[2006 state of emergency in the Philippines|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 [[Provinces of the Philippines|Province]] of [[Maguindanao]] under a state of martial law through Proclamation No. 1959.<ref name="gmanews.tv">{{cite web|url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/178575/arroyo-declares-martial-law-in-maguindanao|title=Arroyo declares martial law in Maguindanao province|date=5 December 2009 }}</ref> As with the last imposition, the declaration suspended the [[writ of habeas corpus]] in the province.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091205-240233/Martial-law-declared-in-Maguindanao |title=Martial law declared in Maguindanao - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos |access-date=2009-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207090214/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091205-240233/Martial-law-declared-in-Maguindanao |archive-date=2009-12-07 }}</ref> 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 [[Maguindanao Massacre|massacre of 58 persons]], including women from the rival [[Esmael Mangudadatu|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.<ref name="gmanews.tv"/>

On 23 May 2017, President [[Rodrigo Duterte]] declared martial law throughout the main southern island of [[Mindanao]], through [[Proclamation No. 216]], due to the [[Marawi crisis|attack]] of [[Maute Group]] in [[Marawi City]], [[Lanao del Sur]]. It was announced in a briefing in Moscow by Secretary [[Ernesto Abella]],<ref name="news.abs-cbn.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/05/23/17/duterte-declares-martial-law-in-mindanao|title=Duterte declares Martial Law in Mindanao|date=23 May 2017}}</ref> and was in effect until December 2019.

===Poland===
{{Main|Martial law in Poland|Polish People's Republic}}
[[File:Stan wojenny w Polsce - 1981-1983 - 08.JPG|thumb|right|230px|Polish [[ZOMO]] squads with [[baton (law enforcement)|police batons]] preparing to violently disperse protesters during [[martial law in Poland]], 1981–1983. The [[sarcasm|sarcastic]] caption reads "outstretched hands of understanding" or "outstretched hands for agreement", with batons ironically symbolizing hands. 91 protesters died at the hands of the ZOMO and the [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|Secret Services]] (SB).]]
Martial law was introduced in [[Polish People's Republic]] on 13 December 1981, by General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] to prevent the [[Extra-parliamentary opposition|extraparliamentary]] opposition from gaining popularity and political power in the country. Thousands of people linked to the [[Solidarity Movement]], including [[Lech Wałęsa]], were arbitrarily arrested and detained. Approximately 91 deaths are attributed to the martial law, including 9 miners shot by the police force during the pacification of striking [[Wujek Coal Mine]]. Curfews, censorship and food rationing were in place. A nationwide travel ban was imposed. The martial law was eventually lifted on 22 July 1983. Contemporary Polish society is divided in opinion on the necessity of introducing martial law in 1981. It is viewed by some as a lesser evil that was necessary to stop a potential [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military intervention as the [[Warsaw Pact]], which Poland signed in 1955, enabled other [[Eastern Bloc]] countries to intervene if they believed that communism was in danger.

===Russian Federation===
{{main|Martial law in Russia}}
In the Russian Federation recourse to martial law is governed by a document passed 30 January 2002 as No. 1-FKZ (1-ФКЗ).<ref name="n1fkz">{{cite news |title=ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ КОНСТИТУЦИОННЫЙ ЗАКОН О военном положении |url=https://docs.cntd.ru/document/901809561 |publisher=РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ |date=30 January 2002}}</ref>

===South Korea===
In October 1946, [[United States Army Military Government in Korea]] declared martial law as a result of the [[Daegu Riot]].<ref name=champyungan>{{cite web | title=Special Project – Having an Accurate Understanding of Korea's Modern History  | publisher=Pyungkangcheil Church | url =http://www.champyungan.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=global1&wr_id=59 | access-date = 2013-05-05 }}</ref> On 17 November 1948, [[President of South Korea|President]] [[Syngman Rhee]]'s regime proclaimed martial law in order to quell the [[Jeju uprising]].<ref name="jejuweekly20100331">{{cite news |url = http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=657 |title = Islanders still mourn April 3 massacre|publisher = Jeju weekly|date = 31 March 2010 | access-date = 2013-05-05 | first=Jung Hee| last=Song}}</ref> On 19 April 1960, the Rhee government proclaimed martial law again in order to suppress the [[April Revolution]].<ref name="Hankyoreh20110418">{{cite web |url = http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/473473.html |title = 4·19때 경찰이 계엄사령관에 총탄 10만발 빌려달라 요청|publisher = [[Hankyoreh]]|date = 18 April 2011 | access-date = 2013-05-05 | first= Moon Young| last=Rhee}}</ref>

Following the 12·12 Military Insurrection of 12 December 1979, General [[Chun Doo-hwan]] launched the [[Coup d'état of May Seventeenth]] in 1980 and forced the Cabinet to extend martial law nationwide, which set off the [[Gwangju Uprising]] of 18 May 1980.<ref>May, The Triumph of Democracy. Ed. Shin Bok-jin, Hwang Chong-gun, Kim Jun-tae, Na Kyung-taek, Kim Nyung-man, Ko Myung-jin. Gwangju: 18 May Memorial Foundation, 2004.</ref>

On 3 December 2024, president [[Yoon Suk Yeol]] declared a state of [[2024 South Korean martial law|emergency martial law]] to "safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea's communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-12-03 |title=South Korea's president declares emergency martial law |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/3/south-koreas-president-declares-emergency-martial-law |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-12-03 |title=South Korea President Yoon declares martial law |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-president-yoon-declares-martial-law-2024-12-03/ |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=Reuters}}</ref> However, on 4 December 2024 at 01:01 AM [[Korean Standard Time|KST]], 190 lawmakers who were present at the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]] voted unanimously to lift martial law.<ref>{{Cite web |last=나세웅 |date=2024-12-04 |title=[속보] 국회, 비상계엄 해제 요구안 가결‥국회의장 "계엄령 선포 무효" |url=https://imnews.imbc.com/news/2024/politics/article/6662793_36431.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=MBC 뉴스 |language=ko}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Haye-ah |first=Lee |date=4 December 2024 |title=Nat'l Assembly votes to demand lifting of martial law |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20241204001600315?section=national/politics |website=Yonhap News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=South Korea latest: Soldiers clash with protesters as martial law declared; parliament votes to overturn president's shock order |url=https://news.sky.com/story/south-korea-live-updates-members-of-parliament-could-be-arrested-after-emergency-martial-law-declared-13266031?postid=8720104#liveblog-body |access-date=2024-12-03 |publisher=Sky News}}</ref> Martial law was formally lifted by president Yoon around 4:50&nbsp;a.m.; martial law was in effect for about six hours.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-04 |title=South Korea lifts martial law order, president urged to resign |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-korea-president-martial-law-emergency/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |publisher=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Switzerland===
There are no provisions for martial law as such in [[Switzerland]]. Under the ''Army Law'' of 1995,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c510_10.html|title=SR 510.10 Bundesgesetz vom 3. Februar 1995 über die Armee und die Militärverwaltung (Militärgesetz, MG)}}</ref> the [[Swiss Army|Army]] can be called upon by [[Cantons of Switzerland|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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.admin.ch/cp/d/1997Jan29.105055.7098@idz.bfi.admin.ch.html|title=Historischer Abriss zum Thema Ordnungsdienst|website=www.admin.ch|language=de|access-date=2018-11-27}}</ref>

===Syria===
The martial law regime between the [[1963 Syrian coup d'état]] and 2011 is the longest ranging period of active martial law.{{disputed inline|text=disputed content|Syria: martial law vs exceptional state|date=May 2017}}<ref name="reuters20110421">{{Cite news |date=2011-04-21 |title=Syria's Assad ends state of emergency |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria/syrias-assad-ends-state-of-emergency-idUSTRE72N2MC20110421 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904135026/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria/syrias-assad-ends-state-of-emergency-idUSTRE72N2MC20110421 |archive-date=2017-09-04 |access-date=2019-10-30 |newspaper=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> Similar to other countries, martial law in Syria was established as a response to the declaration of a state of emergency.<ref>International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 41, No. 4 (Nov., 2009), pp. 545-547 (3 pages) Published By: Cambridge University Press</ref> When on 8 March 1963, the Baath Party seized power, the prime minister of Syria, acting as the martial law governor, was granted extraordinary powers through his declaration of a state of emergency.<ref name="hrw2007">{{Cite web |title=No Room to Breathe: State Repression of Human Rights Activism in Syria: IV. Syria's Legal Framework |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/syria1007/3.htm |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=www.hrw.org}}</ref> Syrian laws enabled the martial law governor to place many restrictions on freedoms of individuals, such as with respect to "meetings, residence, travel and passage in specific places or at particular times; to preventatively arrest anyone suspected of endangering public security and order; to authorize investigation of persons and places; and to delegate any person to perform any of these tasks".<ref name="hrw2007" /><ref>Legislative Decree 51, dated 22 December 1962, art. 4(a).</ref> However, the state of emergency declaration in Syria remained intact for nearly 50 consecutive years, prompting intervention and commentary from the international community.<ref name="hrw2007" />

International bodies declared such an extended state of emergency as against international law. Specifically, it was held to be in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter "ICCPR"), which Syria is a party to.<ref name="hrw2007" /> Article 4 of the ICCPR "limits the application of emergency laws to a time of 'public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed.' It further stipulates that the state parties to the ICCPR may derogate from their obligations under the treaty only 'to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other obligations under international law.'"<ref name="ohchr">{{Cite web |title=International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=OHCHR}}</ref>

In 2000, Syria responded to the allegations from the ICCPR, and countered that it was in compliance with the ICCPR in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.<ref name="un2009">{{Citation |title=Consideration of reports submitted by states parties under article 40 of the Covenant and of country situations in the absence of a report resulting in public concluding observations |date=2009-12-31 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.18356/81853592-en |work=Report of the Human Rights Committee: 91st Session; 92nd Session; 93rd Session |series=Report of the Human Rights Committee |pages=18–91 |access-date=2023-04-03 |publisher=UN |doi=10.18356/81853592-en |isbn=978-92-1-056786-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Syria justified this ongoing declaration of emergency through their concerns of ongoing threats of war by Israel.<ref name="hrw2007" />

On 28 July 2005, the United Nations responded: <blockquote>"Noting with concern that the state of emergency declared some forty years ago is still in force and provides for many derogations in law or practice from the rights guaranteed under articles 9 14, 19, and 22, among others, of the Covenant, without any convincing explanation being given as to the relevance of these derogations to the conflict with Israel and as to the necessity of these derogations to meet the exigencies of the situation claimed to have been created by the conflict."<ref name="un2009" /><ref name="ohchr" /> </blockquote>In further response, Syria reiterated their position that the ongoing emergency declaration was due to a continued threat of war with Israel.<ref name="un2009" /><ref name="hrw2007" /> Despite ongoing dialogue over a period of years between Syria, the ICCPR, and the United Nations, the declaration remained in effect for the next six years from the 2005 statement made by the United Nations advising of the invalidity of such an extensive state of emergency declaration.<ref name="un2009" /><ref name="ohchr" /><ref name="hrw2007" />

Ultimately, after 48 years, in April 2011, President Bashar al-Assad ended Syria's state of emergency, thereby signaling the end of the longest martial law ruling in history.<ref name="routledge2016">{{Citation |title=Syria's President Bashar al-Assad: State Sponsor of Terrorism? |date=2016-01-08 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315635422-9 |work=Conversations with Terrorists |pages=69–88 |access-date=2023-04-03 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315635422-9 |isbn=978-1-315-63542-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This came as a response to [[Syrian revolution|protests]] demanding freedom from the historically long police rule over Syria.<ref name="routledge2016" />

===Taiwan===
{{Main|Martial law in Taiwan}}
Martial law was in force in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, for a total of 38 consecutive years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guiheux |first1=Gilles |last2=Tsang |first2=Steve |last3=Tien |first3=Hung-Mao |date=2000 |title=Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2672460 |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=594 |doi=10.2307/2672460 |jstor=2672460 |issn=0030-851X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Martial law in Taiwan refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II that are under the control by the [[Republic of China Armed Forces]] of the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China regime. This qualified as "the longest imposition of martial law by a regime anywhere in the world" at that time,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mulvenon|first=James C|title=A Poverty of riches: new challenges and opportunities in PLA research|year=2003|publisher=Rand Corporation|isbn=0-8330-3469-3|pages=172}}</ref> but has since been surpassed by Brunei and Syria.

===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.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.thailawforum.com/laws/Martial%20Law.pdf
 |title=Martial Law, B.E. 2457 (1914) unofficial translation
 |access-date=30 May 2014
 |author=Pakorn Nilprapunt
 |date=2 April 2012
 |website=Thailand Law Forum
 |publisher=[[:th:สำนักงานคณะกรรมการกฤษฎีกา (ประเทศไทย)|Office of the Council of State (Thailand)]]
 |quote=Reference to Thai legislation in any jurisdiction shall be to the Thai version only. This translation has been made so as to establish correct understanding about this Act to the foreigners.
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416100156/http://www.thailawforum.com/laws/Martial%20Law.pdf
 |archive-date=16 April 2013
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> On 19 September 2006, the [[Royal Thai Armed Forces]] declared martial law following a bloodless [[2006 Thai coup d'état|military coup]] in the [[Thailand|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 20 May 2014, following seven months of civil and political unrest, Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. [[Prayut Chan-ocha]], declared martial law nationwide.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27480845 "Thailand Crisis: Army Declares Martial Law"] (20 May 2014). ''BBC.com''. Retrieved 2018-09-14.</ref>

The nationwide martial law, which was imposed just prior to [[2014 Thai coup d'état|a coup staged by the army]], was lifted on 1 April 2015, through an approval by King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]]. However, it was replaced by a new security order;<ref>{{cite news |date=1 April 2015 |title=Thai military government replaces martial law |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32152893 |work=[[BBC News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref> and the military retained sweeping powers.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 April 2015 |title=Thailand's Ruling Junta Lifts Martial Law After Coup |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/thailands-ruling-junta-lifts-martial-law-after-coup-10-months-n334066 |work=[[NBC News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref>

In [[Southern Thailand|the country's Muslim-dominated south]], martial law has been enforced amid [[South Thailand insurgency|ongoing conflict involving Islamic separatists]]. On 5 January 2004, the national government declared such in [[Provinces of Thailand|the provinces]] of [[Pattani province|Pattani]], [[Yala province|Yala]], and [[Narathiwat province|Narathiwat]];<ref>{{cite news |date=5 January 2004 |title=Officials Blame Muslim Insurgents for Thailand Arson Attacks |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2004-01-05-15-officials-66865087/376547.html |work=[[VOA News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mintier |first=Tom |date=6 January 2004 |title=Thailand declares martial law |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/05/thailand.bombs/ |work=[[CNN]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref> and on 3 November 2005, the same was imposed in two [[Districts of Thailand|districts]] of [[Songkhla province|Songkhla]].<ref>{{cite news |date=3 November 2005 |title=Martial law imposed in southern Thailand |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9907180 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |via=[[NBC News]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref> Since 2025, there are plans to lift it in four districts of the first three [[Malaysia–Thailand border|border]] provinces;<ref>{{cite news |date=19 April 2025 |title=Govt set to lift martial law in South |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3006146/govt-set-to-lift-martial-law-in-south |newspaper=[[Bangkok Post]] |location=[[Bangkok]] |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref> but these have been postponed due to increasing violent attacks.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 April 2025 |title=Thailand Delays Martial Law Removal Plans in the South After Fatal Attacks |url=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2025/04/28/thailand-delays-martial-law-removal-plans-in-the-south-after-fatal-attacks/ |work=Khaosod English |location=[[Bangkok]] |publisher=[[Khaosod]] |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref>

Amid [[2025 Cambodia–Thailand border conflict|worsening disputes]] with neighboring [[Cambodia]], on 25 July 2025, a day after [[2025 Cambodia–Thailand clashes|the fighting began]] near [[Cambodia–Thailand border|the border]], the country's Border Defence Command declared martial law in the districts bordering Cambodia—seven in [[Chanthaburi province|Chanthaburi]] and one in [[Trat province|Trat]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Blackburn |first=Gavin |date=25 July 2025 |title=Thailand declares martial law in border districts as conflict with Cambodia worsens |url=https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/25/thailand-declares-martial-law-in-border-districts-as-conflict-with-cambodia-worsens |work=[[Euronews]] |location=[[Lyon]], [[France]] |publisher= |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref>

===Turkey===
{{Main|Martial law and state of emergency in Turkey}}
Since the foundation of the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]] in 1923, the [[Turkish Armed Forces]] conducted three [[Coup d'état|coups d'état]] and declared martial law. The first instance was established following the [[1960 Turkish coup d'état]], which toppled down the [[Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1961)|Democrat Party]] government and executed its leaders. The second was established after the [[1971 Turkish military memorandum]] for a short period of time to impose reforms to confront escalated domestic violence, which proved unsuccessful. As a result of conflicts between [[Far-left politics|far-left]] and [[Far-right politics|far-right]] groups in Turkey growing, martial law was established for the third time in 1978, followed by the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état]] that was kept in place until 1983. The martial law between 1978 and 1983 was replaced by a [[state of emergency]] in a limited number of provinces that lasted until November 2002. The [[Peace at Home Council]]'s official statement in a broadcast on [[TRT 1|TRT]] during the [[2016 Turkish coup attempt|2016 coup attempt]] included a declaration of martial law.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/16/world/europe/military-attempts-coup-in-turkey-prime-minister-says.html|title=Turkish President Returns to Istanbul in Sign Military Coup Is Faltering|first1=Tim|last1=Arango|first2=Ceylan|last2=Yeginsu|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 July 2016}}</ref>

===Ukraine===
{{Main|Martial law in Ukraine}}
[[File:Martial Law in Ukraine (2018).svg|thumb|right|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 of Ukraine|President]] decides on the declaration of martial law and then [[Verkhovna Rada]] must approve it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/what-martial-law-in-ukraine-could-mean-for-nation.html|title=What martial law in Ukraine could mean for nation|newspaper=Kyiv Post|author=Matthew Kupfer|date=26 November 2018|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://iportal.rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/108880.html|title=Verkhovna Rada adopts Law 'On legal regime of martial law'|publisher=Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine|date=12 May 2015|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>

Martial law was first declared in Ukraine in 2018 and as a response to Russian hostilities.<ref name="americanbar">{{Cite web |url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/labor_law/publications/labor_employment_law_news/spring-2022/martial-law-in-ukraine/ |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=www.americanbar.org |title=Martial Law in Ukraine |last1=Pavlynska |first1=Alesya}}</ref> On 26 November 2018, lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada overwhelmingly backed President [[Petro Poroshenko]]'s imposition of martial law along Ukraine's coastal regions and those bordering the [[Russia|Russian Federation]] and [[Transnistria]], an unrecognized breakaway state of [[Moldova]] which has [[Russian military presence in Transnistria|Russian troops stationed in its territory]], in response to the [[2018 Kerch Strait incident|firing upon and seizure]] of Ukrainian naval ships by Russia near the [[Crimea|Crimean Peninsula]] a day earlier. A total of 276 lawmakers in [[Kyiv]] backed the measure, which took effect on 28 November 2018 and automatically expired in 30 days.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-live-latest-update-martial-law-black-sea-ships-navy-crisis-a8651736.html|title=Kiev declares martial law after Russian seizure of Ukrainian ships in Black Sea|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-11-26|language=en-GB}}</ref>

This period of martial law was both intended to be, and ultimately was, limited in scope.<ref name="americanbar" /> Then-president Poroshenko proposed a 60-day martial law period, but ultimately a 30-day period of martial law was signed into effect.<ref name="americanbar" /> This period of martial law came to an end at its scheduled 30-day mark.<ref name="americanbar" /> This declaration was limited to specific areas of Ukraine, including territories along the Russia-Ukraine border, the Moldova-Ukraine border, the coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Azov – Kerch international waters.<ref name="americanbar" />

On 24 February 2022, President [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy|Volodymyr Zelensky]] declared martial law in response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Lock|first1=Samantha|last2=Singh|first2=Maanvi|last3=Oladipo|first3=Gloria|last4=Michael|first4=Chris|last5=Jones|first5=Sam|last6=Harding|first6=Luke|last7=Beaumont|first7=Peter|date=2022-02-24|title=Russia-Ukraine crisis live news: Putin has launched 'full-scale invasion', says Ukrainian foreign minister – latest updates|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/feb/23/ukraine-russia-news-crisis-latest-live-updates-putin-biden-europe-sanctions-russian-invasion-border-troops|access-date=2022-02-24|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Then, on 15 March, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Organizing Labor Relations under Martial Law" which came into effect on 24 March 2022, and "clarified relevant restrictions of the constitutional right and freedoms and set out special rules applicable to labor relations to replace the 'normal' rules of the Labour Code of Ukraine."<ref name="americanbar" /> Article 4(7) of the Law of Ukraine holds that the "General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shall direct, coordinate and control the activities of regional military administrations on defense, public safety, and order, and implement measures of martial law. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine shall direct, coordinate and control the regional military administrations regarding other issues."<ref name="americanbar" />

{{As of|2023|November|bare=}}, there have been ten extensions to the Ukrainian declaration of martial law.<ref name="rferl">{{Cite news |last=Service |first=RFE/RL's Ukrainian |title=Ukraine's Parliament Extends Martial Law, Military Mobilization By 90 Days |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-parliament-extends-martial-law-mobilization/32807978.html |access-date=2024-02-29 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}</ref> This has led to the [[Next Ukrainian parliamentary election|2023 legislative]] and [[Next Ukrainian presidential election|2024 presidential elections]] being delayed, due to elections not being allowed to be held in times of martial law.<ref name="rferl"/>

===United States===
{{main|Martial law in the United States}}
{{see also|Habeas corpus in the United States#Federal law|Suspension Clause}}
In the United States, martial law has been declared for a state or other locality under various circumstances including after a direct foreign attack (Hawaii after the [[Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor]]; New Orleans during the [[Battle of New Orleans]]); after a major disaster (Chicago after the [[Great Chicago Fire]] of 1871; San Francisco after the [[earthquake of 1906]]); and in response to chaos associated with protests and mob action (San Francisco during the [[1934 West Coast waterfront strike]]; Montgomery, Alabama, following the mob actions against the [[Freedom Riders#Mob violence in Montgomery|Freedom Riders]]). It has also been declared by renegade local leaders seeking to avoid arrest or challenges to their authority ([[Nauvoo, Illinois]] by Joseph Smith during the [[Illinois Mormon War]] and [[Utah]] by Governor Brigham Young during the [[Utah War]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual|year=2003|url=http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/church-history-in-the-fulness-of-times/|access-date=30 March 2020|page= 276,368}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book|author=G. Edward White|title=Law in American History: Volume 1: From the Colonial Years Through the Civil War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP1oAgAAQBAJ|year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-972314-0|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP1oAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22martial+law%22+%22habeas+corpus%22&pg=PA442 442]|quote=As the above details suggest, the imposition of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus are related, but do not perform identical functions.}}</ref> 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." 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.

In [[Law of the United States|United States law]], martial law is limited by several court decisions handed down between the [[American Civil War]] and [[World War II]]. In 1878, [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] passed the [[Posse Comitatus Act]], which, depending on the circumstances, can forbid U.S. military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.({{UnitedStatesCode|18|1385}}, original at {{USStat|20|152}})

The legality of the implementation of martial law was examined in 1866, in the court case ''Ex parte Milligan'', 71 U.S. 2 (1866).<ref name="ex-parte-milligan">''Ex parte Milligan'', 71 U.S. 2 (1866).</ref> Through this case, the Supreme Court established that trying civilians in military tribunals was unconstitutional unless there were no civilian courts available.<ref name="ex-parte-milligan" /> Today, the ability to declare martial law over the United States is not explicitly granted in the Constitution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fairman |first=Charles |date=August 1928 |title=The Law of Martial Rule |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1945619 |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=591–616 |doi=10.2307/1945619 |jstor=1945619 |s2cid=144256852 |issn=0003-0554|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Despite this, martial law has been declared at least 68 times in the United States.<ref name="brennancenter" />

There are two main schools of thought regarding the declaration of martial law. First, some scholars argue that the ability to declare martial law is a constitutional power vested in Congress, and in some cases of emergency, the President.<ref name="Lieber2019">{{Cite book |last1=Lieber |first1=Francis |last2=Lieber |first2=G. Norman |editor-first1=Will |editor-last1=Smiley |date=2019-07-23 |title=To Save the Country |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.12987/9780300245189 |doi=10.12987/9780300245189|isbn=978-0-300-24518-9 }}</ref> The second school of thought believes that the power to declare martial law in the United States is not expressed in any law, but rather arises as a matter of necessity and in the interests of "national self-preservation".<ref name="Lieber2019" /> As it stands today, there is no explicit provision in the Constitution granting powers to any specific body of government to declare martial law.

Historically, martial law has been declared in response to national emergencies in the United States. In Hawaii, for example, martial law was instituted following the attack on Pearl Harbor.<ref name="pearlharbor">{{Cite web |date=2017-08-18 |title=The Effects of War: Martial Law in Hawaii {{!}} Pearl Harbor |url=https://pearlharbor.org/blog/effects-war-martial-law-in-hawaii/ |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=pearlharbor.org |language=en-US}}</ref> The Supreme Court evaluated the legality of declaring martial law in Hawaii in the court case ''Duncan v. Kahanamoku'', 327 U.S. 304 (1946).<ref name="duncan-v-kahanamoku">''Duncan v. Kahanamoku'', 327 U.S. 304 (1946).</ref> Here, the Supreme Court held that although Hawaii was not yet a state, the legality of declaring martial law must be analyzed as though Hawaii was one.<ref name="duncan-v-kahanamoku" /> As a result, the United States determined that the safety of the residents of Hawaii was their responsibility, and martial law was implemented throughout the Hawaiian Islands.<ref name="pearlharbor" />  

In June 1970, martial law was effected in the small university-town of [[Isla Vista, California]] next to the [[University of California at Santa Barbara]] at the acme of the 1969-1970 student [[protests]] against the [[Vietnam War]]. Student [[Political demonstration|demonstrations]] had engendered aggressive police [[Political repression|repression]], which reached an apex when students burned down the [[Isla Vista]] [[Bank of America]] building. One student, Kevin Moran, who was working to put out the flames, was shot and killed by police.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dailynexus.com/2019-10-03/50-years-isla-vistas-role-in-the-countercultural-revolution/ | title=50 Years: Isla Vista's Role in the "Countercultural Revolution" | website=The Daily Nexus | date=3 October 2019 }}</ref> In response, [[Governor]] [[Ronald Reagan]] deployed the [[national guard]] in Isla Vista and effected a 6am to 6pm [[curfew]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.com/2015/07/16/isla-vista-and-baltimore/ | title=Isla Vista and Baltimore | work=The Independent | date=16 July 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://legacy.geog.ucsb.edu/isla-vistas-perfect-park-confessions-of-a-geography-jailbird/ | title=Isla Vista's Perfect Park: Confessions of a Geography Jailbird | website=UC Geography }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/30/archives/the-isla-vista-war-campus-violence-in-a-class-by-itself-the-isla.html | title=The Isla Vista War—Campus Violence in a Class by Itself | work=The New York Times | date=30 August 1970 | last1=Griffith | first1=Winthrop }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://undergradjournal.history.ucsb.edu/headline-history/headline-history-trouble-in-paradise-the-isla-vista-riots-of-1970/ | title=Headline History: Trouble in Paradise: The Isla Vista Riots of 1970 | website=The UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Journal of History }}</ref>  This set of events was one of the rare instances of full-scale martial law being effected in the United States outside of wartime.

===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 23 March 1999, a "State of Direct War Threat" was declared in [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|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 10 June, following [[Kumanovo Treaty]].{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

==See also==
* [[DEFCON]]
* [[Gendarmerie]]
* [[Military rule (disambiguation)]]
* [[Stratocracy]], a form of government headed by military generals.
* [[Military junta]], a government led by a committee of military leaders.
* [[Military dictatorship]], a form of autocratic rule led by the military.
* [[Authoritarianism]], a form of government with strong central power and limited freedoms.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Macomb, Alexander, Major General of the United States Army, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sl4NAAAAIAAJ ''The Practice of Courts Martial''], (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1841) 154 pages.
* [[Alexander Macomb (American general)|Macomb, Alexander]], [[Commanding General of the United States Army|Major General]] of the [[United States Army]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=uuxhjlFF4Q8C ''A Treatise on Martial Law, and Courts-Martial as Practiced in the United States'']. (Charleston: J. Hoff, 1809), republished (New York: Lawbook Exchange, 2007). {{ISBN|978-1-58477-709-0}}.
* {{cite book | title=All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime | author=Rehnquist, William H. | author-link=William Rehnquist | year=1998 | location=New York | publisher=William Morrow & Co |isbn=0-688-05142-1 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/grandinquestshis00rehn_0 }}
* ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics''. Edited by Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, Oxford University Press, 2004. {{ISBN?}}
* ''Black's Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern''. Henry Campbell Black. St. Paul: West Pub. Co., 1979. {{ISBN?}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Martial law}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366852/martial-law 'Martial law' in the Encyclopædia Britannica]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4402748.stm Martial law in Thailand in 2005]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090707174631/http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=E00000000001 Full text of the 1972 Martial Law in the Philippines]
* [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html NSPD-51]
* [http://www.movementforruleoflaw.com/emergency.php Emergency Rule of 3 November 2007 Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916082744/http://www.movementforruleoflaw.com/emergency.php |date=16 September 2019 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martial Law}}
[[Category:Martial law| ]]
[[Category:Emergency laws]]
[[Category:Militarism]]
[[Category:Military law]]
[[Category:Military dictatorships]]