when martial law is declared civil liberties such as the right to free movement free speech or protection from unreasonable searches can be suspended the justice system that typically handles issues of criminal and civil law is replaced with a military justice system such as a military tribunal 
civilians may be arrested for violating curfews or for offenses that in normal times would not be considered serious enough to warrant detention laws relating to habeas corpus that are designed to prevent unlawful detention may also be suspended allowing the military to detain individuals indefinitely without the possibility of recourse considering the negative ramifications martial law can have on a country and its citizens declaring martial law is a last resort reserved for situations where law and order are rapidly deteriorating for example in 1892 the governor of idaho instituted martial law after a group of rebellious mine workers blew up a mill which leveled a four story building and killed several people 1martial law may be declared to reign in protests civil unrest coup d tats or insurrections it may also be declared when a country s military occupies foreign territory such as at the end of a war typically the power to declare martial law rests with a nation s president or other top civilian leader the circumstances in which it may be declared and other limiting factors such as the amount of time it may be left in effect are governed by legislation or a country s constitution for example a president may be authorized to declare martial law during a time of violent civil unrest but only for 60 days international laws may also limit the scope and duration of martial law if a country has signed onto a multilateral treaty special considerations states of emergency vs martial lawthe use of martial law in the wake of natural disasters is less common than during situations of civil unrest or disorder rather than declaring martial law and handing over power to the military in the case of a hurricane or earthquake governments are much more likely to declare a state of emergency 