DORA, Defence of the Realm Acts, were passed in 1914 and 1915 to give the United Kingdom government special powers during World War I (1914-1918). The acts curtailed the rights and liberties of the people and aroused severe criticism. They amounted to a kind of statutory martial law. They ceased to have effect in 1921.
Various Emergency Powers Acts, most of which were passed by Parliament in 1939, gave the government of the United Kingdom similar powers during World War II (1939-1945).
