Martial Law:

The exercise of government and control by military authorities over the civilian population of a designated territory.
Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public.Temporary military takeover of law enforcement. Under martial law, within the affected territory, the will and decisions of the commanding military officer take precedence.
The state of martial law is anticipated always to be temporary. It is not declared by the judiciary (aka the judicial branch of government) but by the executive branch of government.Some jurists claim that the martial law is an oxymoron and ought not to be called law at all as it is the antithesis to it, vesting as it were many of the functions of government to an unelected military commander.
"In truth and reality it is not a law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law."