What does martial law mean?

Definitions for martial law
mar·tial law

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word martial law.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. martial lawnoun

    the body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law

Wiktionary

  1. martial lawnoun

    Rules by military authorities, especially when imposed on a civilian population in time of war or other crisis, or in an occupied territory

Wikipedia

  1. Martial law

    Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.

ChatGPT

  1. martial law

    Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of civilian functions of government during emergencies or in response to crises such as a war or a natural disaster. Under martial law, certain civil liberties may be suspended, such as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom of association, and freedom of movement. The justice system may also be replaced with military tribunals.

Wikidata

  1. Martial law

    Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis. Martial law is usually imposed on a temporary basis when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively, when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law becomes widespread. Fundamentally it is a requirement put on civilian government when they fail to function correctly. In most of the cases, military forces are deployed to subdue the crowds, to secure government buildings and key or sensitive locations, and to maintain order. Generally, military personnel replace civil authorities and perform some or all of their functions. In full-scale martial law, the highest-ranking military officer would take over, or be installed, as the military governor or as head of the government, thus removing all power from the previous executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public. Such incidents may occur after a coup d'état; when threatened by popular protest; to suppress political opposition; or to stabilize insurrections or perceived insurrections. Martial law may be declared in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct, such as a state of emergency.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Martial Law

    law administered by military force, to which civilians are amenable during an insurrection or riot.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. martial law

    The law of war, obtaining between hostile forces, or proclaimed in rebellious districts; it rests mainly on necessity, custom in like cases, and the will of the commander of the forces; thus differing from military law (which see). Martial law is proclaimed when the civil law is found to be insufficient to preserve the peace; in the case of insurrection, mutiny, &c., the will and judgment of the officer in command becomes law.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. martial law

    See Martial Law.

  2. martial law

    An arbitrary law, proceeding directly from the military power, and having no immediate constitutional or legislative sanction. When it is imposed upon any specified district, all the inhabitants, and all their actions, are brought within its dominion. It is founded on paramount necessity, extends to matters of civil as well as of criminal jurisdiction, and is proclaimed only in times of war, insurrection, rebellion, or other great emergency. It is so far distinct from military law, which affects only the troops and forces. Martial law may, in fact, be termed a subjection to the Articles of War. In a hostile country it consists in the suspension, by the occupying military authority, of the civil and criminal law, and of the domestic administration and government in the occupied place or territory, and in the substitution of military rule and force for the same, as well as in the dictation of general laws, as far as military necessity requires this suspension, substitution, or dictation, and is simply military authority exercised in accordance with the laws and usages of war. Military oppression is not martial law, it is the abuse of the power which that law confers. As martial law is executed by military force, it is incumbent upon those who administer it to be strictly guided by the principles of justice, honor, and humanity,—virtues adorning a soldier even more than other men, for the very reason that he possesses the power or his arms against the unarmed. Martial law affects chiefly the police and collection of public revenue and taxes, whether imposed by the expelled government or by the invader, and refers mainly to the support and efficiency of the army, its safety, and the safety of its operations.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of martial law in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of martial law in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of martial law in a Sentence

  1. President Benigno Aquino:

    You would need a large force to implement martial law and there is no guarantee it will produce positive results, it might generate more sympathy for the Abu Sayyaf.

  2. Avril Haines:

    And the current trend increases the likelihood that President Russian President Vladimir Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production, or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve Russian President Vladimir Putin objectives as the conflict drags on, or if Russian President Vladimir Putin perceives The Russians is losing in Ukraine.

  3. Thitinan Pongsudhirak:

    From the outside, the lifting of martial law is good news for business and tourism, but from the inside, we're functionally in the same boat.

  4. Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert:

    This military practice has some concerned that the U.S. Army is preparing for modern-day martial law, certainly, I can understand these concerns.

  5. Edward Alsworth Ross:

    During the last dozen years the tales of suppression of free assemblage, free press, and free speech, by local authorities or the State operating under martial law have been so numerous as to have become an old story. They are attacked at the instigation of an economically and socially powerful class, itself enjoying to the full the advantages of free communications, but bent on denying them to the class it holds within its power...


Translations for martial law

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"martial law." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/martial+law>.

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