The state of emergency is a state of exception that empowers a government to put through policies it wouldn’t normally be able to, for the safety and protection of citizens. A state of emergency can be declared before, during or after a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or other biosecurity risk.
Some countries have general statutes that permit a governor to proclaim a state of emergency, while others specifically define what types of situations would trigger such a declaration. For example, in California, existing law authorizes the Governor to declare a state of emergency when a local government official requests him to do so, or he finds that “local authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency.”
During a state of emergency, states are empowered to delegate police power to designated officers within the affected area and to take other steps to protect the public. Such measures can include imposing travel bans and curfews, although these are typically limited to the duration of the emergency itself.
States of emergency have been used by both democracies and dictatorships for a variety of reasons, from disaster management to dealing with public order issues. For example, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India in 1975 to deal with political opposition and other internal unrest; elections were suspended during this period and political rights were broadly circumscribed. During a state of emergency, governments are able to make use of derogations from their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.