By : A,A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

As there is a long list of countries that used Martial Law for various reasons given below are details relating to a few countries to present a broad idea about this Law.

Australia

The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. With an escalation of violence in the late 1820s, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur declared martial law in November 1828—effectively providing legal immunity for killing Aboriginal people. It remained in force for more than three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history.

Canada

Canada is a country that widely used these laws on many occasions.  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.

During the colonial era, martial law was proclaimed and applied in the territory of the Province of Quebec during the invasion of Canada by the army of the American Continental Congress in 1775–1776 and twice in the territory of Lower Canada during the 1837–1838 insurrections. On December 5, martial law was proclaimed in the district of Montreal by Governor Gosford, without the support of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. It was imposed until April 27, 1838. Martial law was proclaimed a second time on November 4, 1838.

EGYPT
Egypt was under Martial or Emergency Laws continuously since the death of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a great friend of Sri Lanka who thwarted American and European moves to impose fuel sanctions on Sri Lanka in the 1960s.

 State of Emergency had been in effect in Egypt since 1967. Following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981, a state of emergency was declared. Egypt had been under a state of emergency ever since; the Parliament had renewed the emergency laws every three years since they were imposed. In May 2010, the state of emergency was further extended, albeit with a promise from the government to be applied only to ‘Terrorism and Drugs’ suspects. A State of Emergency in that country gives military courts the power to try civilians and allows the government to detain for renewable 45-day periods and without court orders anyone deemed to be threatening state security. Public demonstrations are banned under the legislation.

On 10 February 2011, the ex-president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, promised the deletion of the relevant constitutional article that gives legitimacy to the State of Emergency in an attempt to please the mass number of protesters that demanded him to resign. On 11 February 2011, the president stepped down and the vice president Omar Suleiman de facto introduced the country to martial law when transferring all civilian powers from the presidential institution to the military institution. It meant that the presidential executive powers, the parliamentary legislative powers and the judicial powers all transferred directly into the military system which may delegate powers back and forth to any civilian institution within its territory.

The military issued in its third announcement the “end of the State of Emergency as soon as the order is restored in Egypt”. Before martial law, the Egyptian parliament under the constitution had the civilian power to declare the State of Emergency. When in martial law, the military gained all powers of the state, including to dissolve the parliament and suspend the constitution as it did in its fifth announcement. Under martial law, the only legal framework within the Egyptian territory is the numbered announcements from the military. These announcements could for instance order any civilian laws to come back into force. The military announcements (communiques) are the de facto only current constitution and legal framework for the Egyptian territory. It means that all affairs of the state are bound by the Geneva Conventions.

Iran

On September 7, 1978, in response to public demonstrations protesting the perceived government involvement in the death of the son of Ayatollah Khomeini, Mostafa Khomeini, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi appointed Chief of Army Staff General Gholam Ali Oveisi as the military governor of the capital city of Tehran. On September 8, the government 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 which is referred to as Black Friday. Unable to control the unrest, the Shah dissolved the civil government headed by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami on November 6 and appointed General Gholam Reza Azhari as the prime minister who 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 ShapourBakhtiar, a reformist critic of his rule, as the new prime minister on January 4, 1979. Bakhtiar’s government fell on February 11 and gave rise to the Islamic Republic and the creation of a new constitution.

Article 79 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran forbids the proclamation of martial law without the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Israel

As of 2013, Israel had been condemned in 45 resolutions by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Since the creation of the Council in 2006, it has resolved almost more resolutions condemning Israel than on the rest of the world combined. The 45 resolutions comprised almost half (45.9%) of all country-specific resolutions passed by the Council, not counting those under Agenda Item 10 (countries requiring technical assistance).^[1] From 1967 to 1989 the UN Security Council adopted 131 resolutions directly addressing the Arab–Israeli conflict.

The military administrative government was in Israel in effect from 1949 to 1966 over some geographical areas of Israel having large Arab populations, primarily the Negev, Galilee, and the Triangle. The residents of these areas were subject to martial law. The Israeli army enforced strict residency rules. Any Arab not registered in a census taken during November 1948 was deported. Permits from the military governor had to be procured to travel more than a given distance from a person’s registered place of residence, and curfew, administrative detentions, and expulsions were common. Although the military administration was officially for geographical areas, and not people, its restrictions were seldom enforced on the Jewish residents of these areas. In the 1950s, martial law ceased to be in effect for those Arab citizens living in predominantly Jewish cities but remained in place in all Arab localities within Israel until 1966.

Following the 1967 war, in which the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights in Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, martial law over the Palestinian population as well as the Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian populations in these areas was put in place. In 1993, Israel agreed to give autonomy to the people of Gaza and disengaged militarily from Gaza from 2005 until 2007, when a military blockade was put in place on Gaza in response to the election of Hamas to the local government.

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

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

Pakistan

Martial law was declared in Pakistan on 7 October 1958, by President IskanderMirza who then appointed General Muhammad Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and Aziz Ahmad as Secretary-General and Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator. However, three weeks later General Ayub—who had been openly questioning the authority of the government before the imposition of martial law—deposed IskandarMirza on 27 October 1958 and assumed the presidency that practically formalized the militarization of the political system in Pakistan. Four years later a new document, Constitution of 1962, was adopted. The second martial law was imposed on 25 March 1969, when President Ayub Khan abrogated the Constitution of 1962 and handed over power to the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan. On assuming the presidency, General Yahya Khan acceded to popular demands by abolishing the one-unit system in West Pakistan and ordered general elections on the principle of one man one vote.

The third was imposed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first civilian to hold this post in Pakistan after the Bangladesh Liberation War. On 21 December 1971, Bhutto took this post as well as that of President.^[

The fourth was imposed by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 5 July 1977. After several tumultuous years, which witnessed the secession of East Pakistan, politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over in 1971 as the first civilian martial law administrator in recent history, imposing selective martial law in areas hostile to his rule, such as the country’s largest province, Balochistan. Following widespread civil disorder, General Zia overthrew Bhutto and imposed martial law in its totality on July 5, 1977, in a bloodless coup d’état. Unstable areas were brought under control through indirect military action, such as Balochistan under Martial Law Governor, General Rahimuddin Khan. The civilian government resumed in 1988 following General Zia’s death in an aircraft crash.

On October 12, 1999, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was dissolved, and the Army took control once more. But no martial law was imposed. General Pervez Musharraf took the title of Chief Executive until the President of Pakistan RafiqTarar resigned and General Musharraf became president. Elections were held in October 2002 and Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Jamali premiership was followed by Chaudhry ShujaatHussain 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 President General Musharraf.

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

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

Philippines

During the Second World War, President José P. Laurel placed the Philippines (then a client state of Imperial Japan) under martial law via Proclamation № 29, dated 21 September 1944 and enforced Proclamation № 30 declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom, effective 10:00 that day.

The country was under martial law again from 1972 to 1981 under President Ferdinand Marcos. Proclamation № 1081 (“Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines”) was signed on 21 September 1972 and came into force on 22 September. The official reason behind the declaration was to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of a communist takeover, particularly after a series of bombings (including the Plaza Miranda bombing) and an assassination attempt on Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in Mandaluyong.

The policy of martial law was initially well-received, but it eventually proved unpopular as the military’s human rights abuses (e.g. use of torture in intelligence gathering, forced disappearances), along with the decadence and excess of the Marcos family and their allies, had emerged. Coupled with economic downturns, these factors fermented dissent in various sectors (e.g. the urban middle class) that crystallized with the assassination of jailed oppositionist senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983, and widespread fraud in the 1986 snap elections. These eventually led to the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos and forced him into exile in Hawaii where he died in 1989; his rival presidential candidate and Aquino’s widow, Corazon, was installed as his successor.

During this 9-year period, curfews were implemented as a safety measure. The 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 being physically abused and tortured by the authorities.

Others have stated that the implementation of Martial Law was taken advantage of by the Marcos regime. Billion pesos worth of property and ill-gotten wealth was said to be acquired by Marcos’ consort, First Lady Imelda Marcos. This alleged money laundering issue was brought back recently, particularly in the Pilipinas Debates 2016 for the recently held Philippine Presidential Elections on May 9, 2016. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., Marcos’ son, ran for the Vice Presidency and lost.

There were rumours that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was planning to impose martial law to end military coup d’etat plots, general civilian dissatisfaction, and criticism of her legitimacy arising from the dubious results of the 2004 presidential elections. Instead, a State of National Emergency was imposed in 2006 from 24 February to 3 March, in order to quash a coup attempt and quell protesters.

On 4 December 2009, President Arroyo officially placed the Province of Maguindanao under a state of martial law through Proclamation № 1959.^[18] As with the last imposition, the declaration suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the province.^[19] The announcement came days after hundreds of government troops were sent to the province to raid the armories of the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuans were implicated in the massacre of 58 persons, including women from the rival Mangudadatu clan, human rights lawyers, and 31 media workers. Cited as one of the bloodiest incidents of political violence in Philippine history, the massacre was condemned worldwide as the worst loss of life of media professionals in one day.^[18]

On 23 May 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law throughout the main southern island of Mindanao, through Proclamation No. 216, due to the attack of Maute Group in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. It was announced in a briefing in Moscow by Secretary Ernesto Abella,^[20] and will be in effect until December 2019.

South Korea

In October 1946, the United States Army Military Government in Korea declared martial law as a result of the Daegu Riot. On November 17, 1948, President Syngman Rhee regime proclaimed martial law in order to quell the Jeju Uprising On April 19, 1960, Syngman Rhee government proclaimed martial law in order to suppress the April Revolution.

Switzerland

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

Syria

The martial law regime between the 1963 Syrian coup d’état and 2011 is the longest ranging period of active martial law.

Thailand

Martial law in Thailand derives statutory authority from the Act promulgated by King Vajiravudh following the abortive Palace Revolt of 1912, entitled “Martial Law, B.E. 2457 (1914)”. Many coups have been attempted or succeeded since then, but the Act governing martial law, amended in 1942, 1944, 1959 and 1972, has remained essentially the same. In January 2004, the Prime Minister of Thailand, ThaksinShinawatra, declared a state of martial law in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in response to the growing South Thailand insurgency. On September 19, 2006, Thailand’s army declared martial law following a bloodless military coup in the Thai capital of Bangkok, declared while Prime Minister Shinawatra was in New York City to address the United Nations, General Assembly. General SonthiBoonyaratglin took the control of the government, and soon after handed the premiership to ex-Army Chief General Surayud. Sonthi himself as Chief of the Administrative Reform Council. At 3 am, on May 20, 2014, following seven months of civil and political unrest, Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha, declared martial law nationwide.

Turkey

Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 the military conducted three coups d’état and announced martial law. Martial law between 1978 and 1983 was replaced by a State of emergency in a limited number of provinces that lasted until November 2002. On July 15, 2016 a section of the military in Turkey attempted a coup(failed) and said to have implied martial law in a broadcast on their national television TRT.

United States

The United States which claims to be the champion of Democracy, fair play, human rights and a prism of equality had been under Martial Law, partially confined to some areas or fully many times in its history.   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). 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). 

The martial law concept in the United States is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus, which is, in essence, the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement by the judiciary. The ability to suspend habeas corpus is related to the imposition of martial law. Article 1, Section 9 of the 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. The distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court has noted, to martial law.

In 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 passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids U.S. military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.

The above details related to the proclamation of Martial Law justifies our need to proclaim this law at the earliest and save the country and the people now itself.  Already due to the visionary steps taken by the President appropriate security personnel have been assigned duties at many important places and only an official proclamation is needed to let the caravan move in the right direction.  At the same time, stern action should be taken against curfew violators and there is a possibility that these people are deliberately doing it to under an organized plan to challenge the authority of the government since the number of these violators has exceeded over 12,000 by now.  In Russia, although Corona threat is at a minimum level in that country compared to western European nations and America, President Vladimir Putin has declared that anyone who acts in a manner to spread the virus threat will be jailed for 7 years.  We too need such measures, Mr. President.