Charts & Graphs

Emergency Powers

When the rule of law is lifted.

Suspension Date Justification Aftermath
Senatus consultum ultimum, Rome 121 bc Tribune Gaius Gracchus’ attempts at reform, including a proposal to make Latin-speaking allies citizens, culminates in a violent protest against the dissolution of the colony of Carthage. The Senate takes the unprecedented step of passing the senatus consultum ultimum (final decree of the Senate), empowering consul Lucius Opimius “to take care that the state suffered no harm”—in effect, a declaration of martial law. After a military assault against him and his allies, Gaius commits suicide. Plutarch writes that although Opimius “was the first consul to exercise the power of a dictator, and put to death without trial,” he was corrupted by the bribes given to him as ambassador to Numidia and died ignominiously.
Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, England 1794 William Pitt responds to pressure for constitutional change (inspired by the French Revolution) by suspending habeas corpus for anyone accused of treason; the act forswears “the system of anarchy and confusion which has so totally prevailed in France.” The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 had previously been suspended in 1714 and 1722. The Suspension Act is renewed in 1795 and followed by the Seditious Permitting Act, which bans meetings of more than fifty people without a magistrate’s
permission.
Civil War, United States 1861 Article I of the Constitution states, “The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” Lincoln does require it, and the military arrests Confederate supporter John Merryman. Justice Roger Taney objects on the grounds that only Congress, and not the president, has the power to suspend habeas corpus. In 1863, Congress acknowledges the president’s authority to suspend the privilege.
The Emergency, India 1975–1977 Found guilty of violating election laws, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed proclaim an emergency, suspend judicial rights, ban meetings of more than five people, and censor the press. Almost 12,000 members of the political opposition are detained over the next two years. In 1977, in the first elections held in six years, Gandhi loses her parliamentary seat to Raj Narain, who pledges to restore civil liberties and annul outstanding arrest warrants. Voted into power again in 1980, Gandhi is assassinated in 1984.
Dirty War, Argentina 1976–1983 The military junta that takes over the Argentine government on March 24, 1976, kills at least 30,000 people. Secret detention camps function as torture centers. Fourteen mothers of los desaparecidos (disappeared persons) unsuccessfully petition for writs of habeas corpus in 1977; they protest every Thursday thereafter at Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. The failure of the military invasion of the British-held Falkland Islands leads to civilian elections in 1983.
Proclamation No. 1081, Philippines 1972–1981 President Ferdinand Marcos proclaims martial law, claiming a communist threat. Though he signs the document on September 23, he dates it September 21, which becomes National Thanksgiving Day, marking the start of a so-called New Society. The extraordinary powers Marcos assumes include military control and the right to deny habeas corpus. In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte proclaims martial law and suspends habeas corpus for the 22 million inhabitants of Mindanao after Maute militants clash with the military.
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, United States 2004 Yaser Hamdi is captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and held as an enemy combatant, first in Guantánamo Bay and then on a naval brig after his captors learn he is a U.S. citizen. His father files a habeas corpus petition. The U.S. Supreme Court rules he could challenge his detention before “an impartial adjudicator.” Hamdi is released in 2004. In his dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia holds that the law is clear: either Hamdi needs to be tried for treason or the government must suspend habeas corpus.