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Reference.org
State of exception
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<p>A state of exception is a concept introduced in the 1920s by the German philosopher, jurist and <a href="/facts/Nazi_Party/qQCramHd">Nazi Party</a> member <a href="/facts/Carl_Schmitt/alaDCRnf">Carl Schmitt</a>, similar to a <a href="/facts/State_of_emergency/YYWgKFPq">state of emergency</a> (<a href="/facts/Martial_law/fUKQMx0b">martial law</a>) but based in the <a href="/facts/Sovereignty/QnYhTTem">sovereign</a>'s ability to transcend the <a href="/facts/Rule_of_law/BS8rbmel">rule of law</a> in the name of the public order and the survival of a state. Its difference to a state of emergency lies in the two concepts' diverging relationship to the law; while a state of emergency is considered to be mostly declaratory, a state of exception is considered to be more politically significant, as it nullifies the legal validity of certain legal orders by the sovereign decision. </p>