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Martial
Law
Martial
law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military
takes control of the normal administration of justice.
Martial law is sometimes imposed during wars or 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
crack down on the opposition (Poland 1981). Martial law can also
be declared in cases of major natural disasters; however most
countries use a different legal construct, such as a "state of
emergency".
Martial law in other countries
Australia
Martial law was first used in Australia from midnight Sunday 4
March 1804 during the Castle Hill convict rebellion, also known
as the second Battle of Vinegar Hill, a reference to the Irish
engagement of 1798 in which many of the convicts had previously
been involved. The militia were called out under the auspices of
posse comitatus to assist in suppressing the rebelling convicts.
Martial law was then lifted.
Canada
Though the Canadian government has never actually imposed
martial law, it has come close through a piece of legislation
known as the War Measures Act. This act was invoked three times,
in both world wars due to riots over conscription (the
Conscription Crisis of 1917 and Conscription Crisis of 1944) and
in the October Crisis of 1970, which resulted in 1628 raids and
200 subsequent arrests. The War Measures Act technically does
not invoke martial law, as the military does not take over the
administration of justice. A better comparison would be to
declaring a State of Emergency. Indeed, the War Measures Act was
later replaced by the Emergencies Act in 1988.
Prior to Confederation, martial law was proclaimed and applied
on the territory that would later become the Province of Quebec
during the American invasion in 1775-1776, and on the territory
of Lower Canada during the insurrections of 1837-1838. On
December 5, following the events of November 1837, martial law
was proclaimed in the district of Montreal by the Parliament of
Lower Canada. It remained in force until April 27, 1838. Martial
law was proclaimed a second time on November 4, 1838 and was
applied until August 24, 1839.
People's Republic of China (Mainland China)
The constitution of the People's Republic of China grants the
President of the People's Republic of China the power to declare
martial law in pursuance of a decision of the National People's
Congress to declare martial law. In Tibet, martial law was
declared twice, after 1959 Tibetan uprising and after 1989
Tibetan uprising. In 1989, President Yang Shangkun unilaterally
invoked the martial law clause to allow the military to stage a
crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters. The legality of this
action, in the absence of a previous decision by the NPC, has
been questioned, and in 2004 the clause was finally weakened
into a provision that allowed the government to simply declare a
State of Emergency. Martial law was declared in November 2004 to
quell ethnic clashes in Langchenggang, Henan province.
Egypt
In Egypt, a State of Emergency has been imposed almost
continuously since 1967. Due to 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 them with
new anti-terrorism laws but after the Dahab bombings in April
martial law was renewed for another two years.
Martial law allows the government to detain anyone deemed to be
threatening state security for renewable 45-day periods without
court orders and also give military courts the power to try
civilians.
Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation.
India
Martial law in India is different from rest of the world.
According to the Indian Constitution, during peacetime,
governmental and the people's interests are under the control of
the Prime Minister, Parliament, and the Supreme Court, but all
armed forces (except police, which are under the control of the
Home Ministry) are under the direct control of the Department of
Defense and the President (who also controls the national guard
and paramilitary forces). In case of a non-environmental crisis,
all armed forces, national guard, and paramilitary forces, along
with the Department of Defense, come under the strict orders of
the President; while police, home ministry, justice department,
and government comes under strict control of the Prime Minister
(without any intervention by Parliament and the Supreme Court).
In such a crisis, solving an issue/problem, stabilizing the
nation, and defense are considered higher priorities than the
people's interest.
In case of an environmental crisis, the Indian government
declares states of emergency, in which the emergency relief
forces of the Indian Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the
police come under the strict control of the President of India.
So far, Indian government declared State of Emergency in the
following times:-
1. 1919 - After General Reginald Dyer fires upon a crowd of
protesters, where 379 are killed, Martial Law is declared
throughout Punjab.
2. 1975 - Indira Gandhi declares state of emergency.
3. 1984 December - Gas leak at Union Carbide pesticides plant in
Bhopal. Thousands are killed immediately, many more subsequently
die or are left disabled.
4. 1999 October - Cyclone devastates eastern state of Orissa,
leaving at least 10,000 dead.
5. 2001 January - Massive earthquakes hit the western state of
Gujarat, leaving at least 30,000 dead.
6. 2004 December - Thousands are killed when tidal waves, caused
by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast,
devastate coastal communities in the south and in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands.
7. 2005 July - More than 1,000 people are killed in floods and
landslides caused by monsoon rains in Mumbai (Bombay) and
Maharashtra region.
8. 2005 8 October - An earthquake, with its epicenter in
Pakistani-administered Kashmir, kills more than 1,000 people in
Indian-administered Kashmir.
NOTE:- Indian government declares state of emergency during any
crisis that is administered as terrorist activity.
1. 2003 August - At least 50 people are killed in two
simultaneous bomb blasts in Bombay. Also, bombs kill 62 people
in Delhi.
2. 2006 14 people are killed by bomb blasts in the Hindu
pilgrimage city of Varanasi.
3. 2006 May - Suspected Islamic militants kill 35 Hindus in the
worst attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir for several months.
4. 2006 11 July - More than 180 people are killed in bomb
attacks on rush-hour trains in Mumbai. Investigators blame
Islamic militants based in Pakistan.
5. 2006 8 September - Explosions outside a mosque in the western
town of Malegaon kill at least 31 people.
6. 2007 18 February - 68 passengers, most of them Pakistanis,
are killed by bomb blasts and a blaze on a train traveling from
New Delhi to the Pakistani city of Lahore.
For further reading please browse through BBC Archives in South
Asia section, relating to India.
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