Coercion acts were laws passed by the British Parliament during the 1800’s to strengthen the powers of the British administration in Ireland. The term is particularly applied to the Peace Preservation Act of 1833, but it is used also for other acts repeating one of its main provisions, the suspension of habeas corpus for a certain period after arrest. Habeas corpus requires that a government show just cause before it can hold a person in custody. Since 1923, the suspension of habeas corpus has been called internment. See also Habeas corpus .
