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“There are, however, limits and restraints upon the President in his exercise of
emergency powers. With the exception of the habeas corpus clause, the Constitution
makes no allowance for the suspension of any of its provisions during a national
emergency. Disputes over the constitutionality or legality of the exercise of
emergency powers are judicially reviewable. Indeed, both the judiciary and
Congress, as co-equal branches, can restrain the executive regarding emergency
powers. So can public opinion. Furthermore, since 1976, the President has been
subject to certain procedural formalities in utilizing some statutorily delegated
emergency authority. The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651)
eliminated or modified some statutory grants of emergency authority; required the
President to declare formally the existence of a national emergency and to specify
what statutory authority, activated by the declaration, would be used; and provided
Congress a means to countermand the President’s declaration and the activated
authority being sought. The development of this regulatory statute and subsequent
declarations of national emergency are reviewed in this report, which is updated as...”
Declare Martial Law...
martial law
n. a system of complete control by a country’s military over all activities, including civilian, in a theoretical or actual war zone, or during a period of emergency caused by a disaster such as an earthquake or flood, with the military commander having dictatorial powers. In the United States martial law must be ordered by the President as commander-in-chief and must be limited to the duration of the warfare or emergency. It cannot result in a long-term denial of constitutional rights, such as habeas corpus, the right to a trial, and to free press. Martial law was ordered in contested areas during the Civil War (but the Supreme Court ruled President Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was unconstitutional), and during the San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906 when the city was in ruins, tens of thousands were homeless, and looting and disease posed great dangers to the public. Misuse of martial law, such as destruction of the veterans’ encampment in Washington, D.C. under President Herbert Hoover, has proved unpopular in the United States. In many foreign countries martial law has become a method to establish and maintain dictatorships either by military leaders or politicians backed by the military. Martial law is not to be confused with “military law,” which governs the conduct of the military services and applies only to service men and women