The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, announced this Thursday that will impose martial law in the country before the decision of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to start a military attack on several cities in the country.
“Dear citizens of Ukraine! Today, President Putin announced the introduction of a special military operation in Donbas. Russia has carried out attacks against our military infrastructure.”Zelensky has said on his official Facebook profile, adding that he “imposes martial law.”
But, what does the application of martial law mean? Martial law is a statute of exception that temporarily replaces the ordinary legal regulations of a country -which is normally governed by a constitution- and grants extraordinary powers to the army and police to preserve public order.
This statute, which is often used in situations of war or civil unrest, It is imposed when there are urgent needs that the ordinary justice institutions cannot solve. because of its slowness and its objective is to preserve order during an emergency.
martial law too implies the limitation or suspension of some fundamental rights of citizens and can carry harsher penalties in court proceedings than in normal situations. Military courts are normally called upon to exercise martial law.
Specifically in Ukraine, martial law was defined in 2015 and entered into force for the first time on November 28, 2018 in coastal regions of the country and in border areas with Russia.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
