MARTIAL LAW

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 December 1939, Page 7

MARTIAL LAW

WHAT IT MEANS IN PRACTICE ENFORCEMENT OF MILITARY AUTHORITY,. SAFETY OF STATE & LOYAL SUBJECTS. The term "martial law" is somewhat loosely employed to indicate the suspension of the administration of norma! civil law and its replacement by military authority when such a change is rendered desirable by special circumstances, of which war and rebellion are the most usual examples. The term does not really' signify a law in the usually accepted sense, but essentially the enforcement of the authority and power of the military' commander of the district affected, who become: responsible! for whatever measures he considers advisable for ensuring the safety of the State and its loyal subjects. Prior to a district being placed under martial law a proclamation is usually published by the executive notifying the public generally that ordinary law is insufficient to cope with the situation, after which the military’ authority specifies what, if any. special regulations will be applied, and issues orders regarding such restriction of personal and public liberty as is thought necessary. The advantage of martial law in time of emergency is that exceptional means of arrest and punishment may be taken against persons who resist the Government or aid the enemy, and that it is readily possible to define as punishable offences any conduct which a rapidly changing military situation shows to be inimical to the success of the Government forces. (In the case of the Netherlands, along whose frontier large German forces have been massed, the drastic measure of martial law has probably been imposed mainly to prevent espionage). Under martial law the ordinary civil courts may be maintained co-existent with, or entirely replaced by. militarytribunals. Minor offences are deal! with by duly authorised officers, and the more serious by military courts which have unlimited powers of punishment. In British practice the military tribunals are usually constituted as courts-martial, the sentence being confirmed in accordance with the provisions of the Army Act. Under the Petition of Right, which is reproduced in the preamble to the Army Act, martial law is illegal in Britain in times of peace, but it is legalised by various Acts which provide for it to be employed, whether the ordinary courts are open or not, in times of emergency. Naturally, its enforcement involves suspension of the privileges of habeas corpus. After suspension of martial law, an Act of Indemnity is always passed to protect any person responsible for its administration, who has exceeded his powers in good faith. Martial law cannot be made retrospective, and can only be enforced in the districts within which it has been proclaimed. but under special circumstances a person arrested outside such a district may be brought within it and tried by the military tribunal. Martial law has been enforced but rarely in Great Britain, and until recently only in the case of open rebellion. but there have been various instances of its enforcement in the colonies, and during the Sotith African War it was applied evtensively in the war area. During the Great War the Defence of the Realm regulations constituted. as regards some of the provisions, martial law, while in Ireland, the situation subsequent to 1919 became so serious as to be beyond the power of the civil authorities, and during 1920 and 1921 different districts were proclaimed as being under martial law, and military tribunals and inquiries were substituted for civil courts of all kinds.