Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Martial Law |
Martial LawNoun1. The body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Public Administration | Describes a state of emergency amounting to a state of war, during which the military authorities not only have the power but are under a positive duty to take steps to meet emergencies dangerous to the safety of the realm. The rules, subject to international law, laid down by governments for the conduct of their forces in war while in occupation of enemy territory (e. g. : the Rules of Land Warfare, The Hague, 1907). Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Martial law is instituted in a number of cases in which it becomes necessary to favour the activity of military authorities and organs, usually for urgent unforeseen needs, and when the normal institutions of justice cannot function ordinarily or when their ordinary procedures and rules could reveal too slow or to weak for the new situation, i.e. due to war or civil disorder, in occupied territory, or after a coup d'etat. The need to preserve the public order during an emergency is the essential goal of Martial law, with many potential accessory purposes.
Usually Martial Law contains a reduction of some of the personal warranties ordinarily granted to the citizen, limits the length of the trial processes and prescribes more severe penalties than ordinary law. In many countries Martial law prescribes death penalty for determined crimes, even if ordinary law doesn't contain that crime at all in its system.
In many countries Martial law has particular and typical rules, one of which is curfew. Often, under this system, the administration of justice is left to military tribunals, called Courts-Martial.
In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions decided during the American Civil War and World War 2. In Ex Parte Milligan 71 US 2 1866, the United States Supreme Court ruled that martial law could not be instituted within the United States when the civilian courts are in operation.
In Canada in 1970, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act in response to a terrorist kidnapping incident called the October Crisis which imposed a variant of martial law on the country.
Martial law was introduced in Poland by the Communist regime on December 13 1981 in order to prevent the democratic movements (such as Solidarity) from gaining popularity and thus power around the country. Many democratic leaders, including Lech Walesa, were imprisoned. This state of affairs lasted for two years.
See also: military law, state of emergency.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Martial law."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Compulsion | Force; brute force, main force, physical force; the sword, ultima ratio; club law, lynch law, mob law, arguementum baculinum, le droit du plus fort, martial law. |
Illegality | Mob law, lynch law, club law, Lydford law, martial law, drumhead law; coup d'etat; le droit du plus fort; argumentum |
Severity | Arbitrary power; absolutism, despotism; dictatorship, autocracy, tyranny, domineering, oppression; assumption, usurpation; inquisition, reign of terror, martial law; iron heel, iron rule, iron hand, iron sway; tight grasp; brute force, brute strength; coercion; strong hand, tight hand. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Martial Law |
| English words defined with "martial law": court-martial ♦ emergency. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Lyrics | Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law (We Didn't Start The Fire; performing artist: Billy Joel) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Martial Law (1998) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Martial law. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Martial law on Colorado border stops migratory laborers. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Bangladesh | Ershad continued his stated commitment to lift martial law. (references) |
Poland | In a series of slow, uneven steps, the Polish regime rescinded martial law. (references) | |
Jordan | King Hussein ended martial law in 1991 and legalized political parties in 1992. (references) | |
Human Rights | Kuwait | During the year, the Amir pardoned three Iraqis and four bidoon convicted by the martial law and state security courts. (references) |
Turkey | However, the Court may not consider "decrees with the force of law" issued under a state of emergency, martial law, or in time of war. (references) | |
Kuwait | Most of the persons convicted in the Martial Law Court in 1991, and the Special State Security Court, which was abolished in 1995, did not receive fair trials. (references) | |
Political Economy | Kuwait | The Amir may declare martial law in an emergency, but only with the approval of the Assembly. (references) |
Pakistan | The leadership of the western part of Pakistan was handed over to Z. A. Bhutto, who became President and first civilian chief martial law administrator. (references) | |
Syria | The powerful role of the security services in government, which extends beyond strictly security matters, stems in part from the state of emergency that has been in place almost continuously since 1963. The Government justifies martial law because of the state of war with Israel and past threats from terrorist groups. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Taiwan | According to the National Federation of Independent Trade Unionists, over 400 trade unionists and supporters have been fired since the labor movement began to expand after the 1987 lifting of martial law. (references) |
Belarus | The Constitution prohibits forced labor except in cases when the work or service to be performed is fixed by a court's decision or in accordance with the law on states of emergency or martial law; however, there were some reports of forced labor. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Nor to declare martial law to prevent our people from voting for the kind of govenment they want. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Expressions using "martial law": declare martial law ♦ proclamation of martial law. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
martial law | 65 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "martial law"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | حكم عرفي. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | stanné právo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | oorlogsrecht (laws of war, principles of combat, rules of war), krijgswet. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | sotalaki. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | loi martiale, loi martial. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Kriegsrecht (laws of war). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | στρατιωτικόσ νόμοσ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ממשל צבאי. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | statárium (state of siege), rögtönítélő bíráskodás, hadijog. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | legge marziale. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 軍法 (military law, strategy, tactics), 軍律 (articles of war, military disciple, military law), '厳令 , '厳 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ぐ"ぽう (military law, mountain range, strategy, tactics), ぐ"りつ (articles of war, military disciple, military law), かい'"れい, かい'" (change of era, enlightenment, opening ones eyes to the truth, spiritual awakening). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | artialmay awlay lei marcial. (various references) legea marţialã. (various references) военное положение. (various references) ley marcial. (various references) sıkıyönetim, örfi idare. (various references) harby яagdaя. (various references) tình trạng thiết quân luật. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-a-i-l-l-m-r-t-w" | |
-2 letters: malarial. | |
-3 letters: armilla, malaria, marital, martial, talaria. | |
-4 letters: amrita, atrial, lariat, latria, mitral, ramtil, tamari, tarama. | |
-5 letters: alarm, altar, artal, atria, await, laari, lamia, llama, maill, malar, maria, ratal, riata, talar, tamal, tiara, trail, trawl, trial, trill, twill, twirl, walla. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Quotations: Speeches 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Anagrams 12. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
