The War Measures Act was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could thereby be taken. The Act was brought into force three times in Canadian history: during the First World War, Second World War, and the 1970 October Crisis.
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was one of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during and before the Second World War. The complete name for the rule was Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939. It allowed the internment without trial of people suspected of being actively opposed to the ongoing war with Germany during the Second World War such as separatist elements or were otherwise suspected of ideological Nazi-aligned sympathy. The effect of 18B was to suspend the right of affected individuals to habeas corpus.
The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally introduced into Parliament on 19 November 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September. It received royal assent and came into force on 14 December 2001. Many of its measures are not specifically related to terrorism, and a Parliamentary committee was critical of the swift timetable for such a long bill including non-emergency measures.
The legal system of Singapore is based on the English common law system. Major areas of law – particularly administrative law, contract law, equity and trust law, property law and tort law – are largely judge-made, though certain aspects have now been modified to some extent by statutes. However, other areas of law, such as criminal law, company law and family law, are almost completely statutory in nature.
The Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after the country entered the First World War. It was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, and to make regulations creating criminal offences.
The Treachery Act 1940 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom effective during World War II to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies, suspended afterwards, and repealed in 1968 or 1973, territory depending. The law was passed on 23 May 1940, in the month after Nazi Germany invaded France and Winston Churchill became prime minister.
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (c. 36) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes provision about civil contingencies. It also replaces former civil defence and emergency powers legislation of the 20th century.
Arson in royal dockyards and armories was a criminal offence in the United Kingdom and the British Empire. It was among the last offences that were punishable by capital punishment in the United Kingdom. The crime was created by the Dockyards etc. Protection Act 1772 passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, which was designed to prevent arson and sabotage against vessels, dockyards, and arsenals of the Royal Navy.
The Emergency Powers Act 1920 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave the Sovereign power, in certain circumstances, to declare a state of emergency by proclamation. The Act also authorised emergency regulations to be issued by Order in Council.
The Official Secrets Act 1911 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced the Official Secrets Act 1889.
The Defence of India Act 1915, also referred to as the Defence of India Regulations Act, was an emergency criminal law enacted by the Governor-General of India in 1915 with the intention of curtailing the nationalist and revolutionary activities during and in the aftermath of the First World War. It was similar to the British Defence of the Realm Acts, and granted the Executive very wide powers of preventive detention, internment without trial, restriction of writing, speech, and of movement. However, unlike the English law which was limited to persons of hostile associations or origin, the Defence of India act could be applied to any subject of the King, and was used to an overwhelming extent against Indians. The passage of the act was supported unanimously by the non-official Indian members in the Viceroy's legislative council, and was seen as necessary to protect against British India from subversive nationalist violence. The act was first applied during the First Lahore Conspiracy trial in the aftermath of the failed Ghadar Conspiracy of 1915, and was instrumental in crushing the Ghadr movement in Punjab and the Anushilan Samiti in Bengal. However its widespread and indiscriminate use in stifling genuine political discourse made it deeply unpopular, and became increasingly reviled within India. The extension of the law in the form of the Rowlatt Act after the end of World War I was opposed unanimously by the non-official Indian members of the Viceroy's council. It became a flashpoint of political discontent and nationalist agitation, culminating in the Rowlatt Satyagraha. The act was re-enacted during World War II as Defence of India act 1939. Independent India retained the law in a number of amended forms, which have seen use in proclaimed states of national emergency including Sino-Indian War, Bangladesh crisis, The Emergency of 1975 and subsequently the Punjab insurgency.
The Official Secrets Act 1920 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Interpretation Act 1889 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed in the aftermath of the Spithead and Nore mutinies and aimed to prevent the seduction of sailors and soldiers to commit mutiny.
The Constitution Act 1931, popularly called the Public Safety Act 1931, was an Act of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State amending the Constitution of the Irish Free State. It inserted Article 2A which empowered the Executive Council to declare a state of emergency during which most provisions of the constitution could be suspended and extra security measures taken. These measures included the uses of the Constitution Tribunal, a military tribunal, to try civilians for political offences, granting extra powers of search and arrest to the Garda Síochána (police), and the prohibition of organisations deemed a threat to the state's security.
The Unlawful Drilling Act 1819, also known as the Training Prevention Act is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Six Acts passed after the Peterloo massacre.
The Piracy Act 1850, sometimes called the Pirates Repeal Act 1850, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It relates to proceedings for the condemnation of ships and other things taken from pirates and creates an offence of perjury in such proceedings.
The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1884 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Courtney Ilbert described this Act as an "expurgatory Act".
The Essential Commodities Reserves Act 1938 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed in anticipation of the Second World War and allowed the Board of Trade to build up stockpiles of commodities considered to be essential, specifically foodstuffs, animal feed, fertiliser and petroleum products as well as the raw resources needed to manufacture these products. They paid traders at least £13.5 million to stockpile materials in the following year and a half. The act was largely superseded by the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 and the establishment, in the same year, of the Ministry of Supply. The stockpiles and associated funding were wound up by 1947 and the act has not been made use of since. It was proposed for repeal by the Law Commission in 2015.
