Laws brought about by a government to deal with emergencies These laws are usually enforced by the military and involve the suspension of rights and freedoms TOP
the body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law
A temporary rule by military authorities, imposed on a civilian population especially in time of war or when civil authority has broken down
Martial law is control of an area by soldiers, not the police. The military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns. a situation in which the army controls an area instead of the police, especially because of fighting against the government impose/declare martial law. Temporary rule of a designated area by military authorities in time of emergency when the civil authorities are deemed unable to function. Under martial law, civil rights are usually suspended, and the activities of civil courts are restricted or supplanted entirely by military tribunals. Such "acts done by necessity" are limited only by international law and the conventions of civilized warfare. Though temporary in theory, a state of martial law may in fact continue indefinitely. See also human rights; war crimes
The suspension of normal civil law and its replacement by strict military control Often declared during times of civil unrest
The law of military necessity in the actual presence of war, administered by the general of the army Martial law is built upon no settled principles, but is entirely arbitrary in its decisions In reality it is no law, but something indulged rather than allowed as law The necessity of order and discipline in the army alone gives it countenance; therefore, it is not permitted in time of peace, when the courts are open for all persons to receive justice according to the laws of the land See Mitchell v Harmony, 13 How 128 (1851) "Martial Law" is exercised over all classes of persons indiscriminately, in the actual presence of war