A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, or after a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risk.
Relationship with international law
Under international law, rights and freedoms may be suspended during a state of emergency, depending on the severity of the emergency and a government's policies.
Democracies use states of emergency to manage a range of situations from extreme weather events to public order situations. Dictatorial regimes often declare a state of emergency that is prolonged indefinitely for the life of the regime, or for extended periods of time, so that derogations can be used to override human rights of their citizens, usually protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In some situations, martial law is also declared, allowing the military greater authority to act. In other situations, an emergency is not declared, and de facto measures are taken, or the government adopts a decree-law. Nicole Questiaux (France) and Leandro Despouy (Argentina), two consecutive United Nations Special Rapporteurs, have recommended to the international community to adopt the following "principles" to be observed during a state or de facto situation of emergency: Principles of Legality, Proclamation, Notification, Time Limitation, Exceptional Threat, Proportionality, Non-Discrimination, Compatibility, Concordance and Complementarity of the Various Norms of International Law (cf. "Question of Human Rights and State of Emergency", E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/19, at Chapter II; see also état d'exception).
Article 4 to the ICCPR permits states to derogate from certain rights guaranteed by the ICCPR in "time of public emergency". Any measures derogating from obligations under the Covenant, however, must be to only the extent required by the exigencies of the situation, and must be announced by the State Party to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The European Convention on Human Rights and American Convention on Human Rights have similar derogatory provisions. No derogation is permitted to the International Labour Conventions.
Some, such as political theorist and Nazi Party member Carl Schmitt, have argued that the power to decide whether to initiate a state of emergency defines sovereignty itself. In State of Exception (2005), Giorgio Agamben criticized this idea, arguing that the mechanism of the state of emergency deprives certain people of their civil and political rights, producing his interpretation of homo sacer.
The state of emergency can be used to overthrow an existing regime's constitution. One example was the August 1991 attempted coup in the Soviet Union (USSR) where the coup leaders invoked a state of emergency; the failure of the coup led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Derogations by states having ratified or acceded to binding international agreements such as the ICCPR, the American and European Conventions on Human Rights and the International Labor Conventions are monitored by independent expert committees, regional Courts and other State Parties.
States of emergency in Egypt are governed by Law 1958/162. The law grants greater powers to the police, suspends some constitutional rights and legalizes media censorship and state detention of individuals, who may be tried before military courts created under emergency rule.
Since the proclamation of the republican system in 1953, Egyptians have lived under four successive periods of emergency rule lasting more than a year: 1956–1964, 1967–1980, 1981–2012 and 2017–2021. The emergency law received widespread criticism during the presidency of Hosni Mubarak, when thousands of civilians were detained under the law according to human rights groups, with estimates of political prisoners running as high as 30,000.
Article 93 of the Constitution of Ethiopia provides for a six-month state of emergency under certain conditions.
A state of emergency was declared on 26 December 2004, following the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. The resulting tsunamis caused extensive damage to the country's infrastructure, cutting off communications in large swathes of the nation, decimating islands, and forcing the closure of several resorts.
On 5 February 2018, a state of emergency was declared by Maldives's President Abdulla Yameen for 15 days and ordered security forces into the Supreme Court of the Maldives and arrested former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the Chief Justice of the Maldives.
In Nigeria, a state of emergency is usually declared during periods of major civil unrest. In recent years, it has specifically been implemented in reaction to terrorist attacks on Nigerians by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.
On 14 May 2013, Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency for the entire northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. A more limited state of emergency had been declared on 31 December 2011 in parts of Yobe, Borno, Plateau and Niger states. This earlier declaration included the temporary shutdown of the international borders in those regions.
On 26 November 2025, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the military, police, and intelligence agencies to expand recruitment and immediately deploy thousands of additional personnel. He also urged the National Assembly to initiate a process of reforming state police forces to address the escalating wave of kidnappings and terrorist attacks across the country.
Sierra Leone declared, on 7 February 2019, a State of Emergency due to ongoing rape and sexual violence in the country. On 24 March 2020, a 12-month state of emergency was declared by (Rtd) Brigadier Julius Madaa Bio due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
States of emergency in South Africa are governed by section 37 of the Constitution and by the State of Emergency Act, 1997. The president may declare a state of emergency only when "the life of the nation is threatened by war, invasion, general insurrection, disorder, natural disaster or other public emergency" and if the ordinary laws and government powers are not sufficient to restore peace and order. The declaration is made by proclamation in the Government Gazette and may only apply from the time of publication, not retroactively. It can only continue for 21 days unless the National Assembly grants an extension, which may be for up to 3 months at a time. The High Courts have the power, subject to confirmation by the Constitutional Court, to determine the validity of the declaration of a state of emergency.