A state of emergency is a government declaration that the normal workings of political and social life are suspended in a particular jurisdiction, usually in the face of an extreme natural disaster or public order crisis. It empowers the state to take a number of measures to protect its citizens, including suspending regular civil rights and imposing derogations from human rights treaties (e.g., the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Dictatorial regimes often invoke a state of emergency to suppress internal opposition.
The state of emergency may be imposed by law, decree or order, and may last for a limited period of time or indefinitely. In most countries, the right to assemble is suspended, although some exceptions may be made for demonstrations or strikes. Military forces are frequently employed during a state of emergency, but are sometimes excluded from constitutional guarantees of civil liberties such as freedom of speech and assembly.
States of emergency can be declared before, during or after a natural disaster, civil unrest, war, armed conflict or medical pandemic. They are not influenced by the events leading to them, but rather by the government’s perception of the need for extraordinary measures to address the emergency and protect its citizens.
In Spain, three degrees of state of emergency exist: alarma, excepción and sitio. The most serious, sitio, confers the highest levels of powers on the government and allows for many rights to be suspended, albeit subject to strict constitutional limits.