PRIZE COURTS AND PRIZE LAW. In England the admiralty court had jurisdiction in matters of prize from very early times, and although since the middle of the 17th century the instance, or ordinary civil jurisdiction of the court, has been kept distinct from the prize jurisdiction, they were originally both administered and regarded as being within the ordinary jurisdiction of the lord high admiral. The early records of the admiralty show that the origin of the prize jurisdiction is to be traced to the power given to the court of the admiral to try cases of piracy and "spoil," i.e., captures of foreign ships by English ships.
Although the courts of common law hardly ever seem to have interfered with or disputed the admiralty prize jurisdiction, its exclusive nature was not finally admitted till 1782 ; but long previously royal ordinances (1512, 1602) and statutes (1661, giving an alternative of commissioners, 167o, 1706) had given the admiralty court the only express jurisdiction over prize. The statute of Anne and acts of 1739 and 1744 give prize jurisdiction to any court of admiralty, including the courts of admiralty for the colonies and plantations in North America.
Prior to the Naval Prize Act 1864, it was necessary for the Crown to confer prize jurisdiction upon the admiralty court by a special commission at the commencement of a war; this practice although no longer necessary has, however, been continued since on the outbreak of every war (see the Zamora, 1916, A.C. 77 96). By the Naval Prize Act 1864, the high court of admiralty and every admiralty or vice-admiralty court, or any other court exercising admiralty jurisdiction in British dominions, if for the time being authorized to exercise prize jurisdiction, were made prize courts. The high court of admiralty was given jurisdiction throughout British dominions as a prize court, and, as such, power to enforce any order of a vice-admiralty prize court and of the judicial committee of the privy council in prize appeals—this power mutatis mutandis being also given to vice-admiralty prize courts. An appeal was given from any prize court to the sovereign in council. Prize courts were given jurisdiction in cases of cap tures made on land by naval or joint naval and military forces or an expedition made conjointly with allied forces, and power to give prize salvage on recaptured ships and prize bounty; and a form of procedure was prescribed. The high court was also given
exclusive jurisdiction as a prize court over questions of ransom and petitions of right in prize cases, and power to punish masters of ships under convoy disobeying orders or deserting convoy. By the Naval Discipline Act 1866, power to award damages to convoyed ships exposed to danger by the fault of the officer in charge of the convoy was also given to the high court. Under other statutes it had power to try questions of booty of war when referred to it by the Crown, in the same way as prize causes, and claims of king's ships for salvage on recaptures from pirates, which could be condemned as droits of admiralty, subject to the owner's right to receive them on paying one-eighth of the value, and also power to seize and restore prizes captured by belligerents in violation of British neutrality, or by a ship equipped in British ports contrary to British obligations of neutrality.
All jurisdiction of the high court of admiralty has since passed to the High Court of Justice, which is made a prize court with all the powers of the admiralty court in that respect ; and all prize causes and matters within the jurisdiction of that court as a prize court are assigned to the probate, divorce and admiralty division; and an appeal from it as a prize court lies only to the king in council (Judicature Acts 1873 and 1891).
By the Prize Court Act 1894 further provision is made for the constitution of prize courts in British possessions. A commission, warrant or instruction from the Crown or the admiralty may be issued at any time, even in peace; and upon such issue, subject to instructions from the Crown, the vice-admiral of the possessions on being satisfied by information from a secretary of State that war has broken out between Great Britain and a foreign State, may make proclamation to that effect, and the commission or warrant comes into effect. The commission or warrant may authorize a vice-admiralty court or colonial court of admiralty to act as a prize court, or establish a vice-admiralty court for that purpose, and may be revoked or altered at any time.