RIGHT OF SEARCH. In international law the right of search is• the right of the lawfully commissioned cruisers and war Ships of a belligerent power to stop and ex amine on the high seas the merchant vessels of neutral powers in order to determine whether they are carrying. contraband goods, engaging in unneutral service, attempting to run a block ade and the like. It is ancillary to the right of capture, for the liability of ship or goods to capture often can be determined only after an inspection of its papers and an examination of its cargo. This right has long been recog nized as one which belligerents are lawfully entitled to exercise. "The right of and searching merchant ships upon the high seas,* said the great English admiralty judge, Sir William Scott, in the case of the Maria in 1799, •whatever be the ships, whatever he the car goes, whatever be the destinations, is an incon testable right of the lawfully commissioned cruisers of a belligerent nation— this right is so clear in principle, that no man can deny it who admits the legality of maritime capture, because if you are not at liberty to ascertain by sufficient inquiry whether there is prop erty that can legally be captured, it is impos sible to capture." The right, howcs er, is one which belongs only to belligerents; it cannot be exercised by insurgents whose 1 dligerency has not been recognized. Likewise, it is limited to merchant vessels and cannot be exercised against public vessels of neutral powers and of course it can be .exercised only on the high seas. Neutral vessels tinder conVoy are exempt from. search. Nor may it be exercised in time of peace except where the right has been granted by treaty, as it has been done to a limited extent for the purpose of putting an end to the slave trade. The assertion and ex ercise of such a claim by Great Britain dur ing the early part of the 19th century was vigorously contested by the United States and in 1858 it was definitely abandoned by the British government. There are certain well recognized rules governing the exercise of the right The pursuing cruiser may, if it wishes, chase under false colors but before beginning the search the true flag must be hoisted. Re shame to the exercise of the right of search renders the vessel audits cargo al; capture and condemnation. It is Customary loeuininon the vessel to at by firing a blank cartridge as a signal to heave to. , This is:ealled the semotsce Of affirming gun, A. searching party then goes the ship's patnts a view to verifying its rationality, investigates the nature of the cargo and inquires into the ports of departure and destination. There are well settled rules regarding the number of men who may constitute the searching party, the number and kind of arms they may take aboard, the manner in which the search shall be conducted, etc. Nearly all prize regulations stipulate that the crew shall be treated courteously and that the vessel shall be subjected to as little delay and inconvenience as possible. If the search
reveals the presence of contraband, evidence of an intention to violate a blockade and the like, the vessel may be seized, taken into a home port and placed in the custody of a prize court in order that the validity of the capture may he judicially determined. Otherwise it should be released and allowed to proceed on its voyage. During the Great European War of 1914-17 the American government protested against the action of British cruisers for taking American repels into distant ports "on suspicion not amounting to and for detaining them for long periods of time for the purpose of dis covering evidence of hostile destination. The American government contended that the right of search could only be exercised on the high seas :at the time and place of capture and if the examination did notzlow the presence a contraband or intent to, violate a. the vessel should be released. To thisprotest, the British government replied that effective searches at. sea under modern conditions was, impossible. Modern ships are so large. and their cargoes so huge that the right of is to be effective it is necessary that the shipe be taken into port and the cargoes removed in order that each parcel may •he exithined or weighed. The evidence in many cases showed' that contraband articles like rubber and copper, had been packed in bales of cotton and the pres ence of such articles could be determined only by a more thorough examination than was pos sible at sea. To take a ship into port, it was argued, was not the assertion of a new bellig erent right but rather the adaptation of an existing right to' 'modern conditions of com-;' coerce. It has been suggested that the neces sity of detention in such cases and with it the' ruinous delays to 'whisk shippers are exposed might be removed by the adoetion of a system of official certification whereby neutral vessels could carry, if they chose, satisfactory ances that their cargoes consisted only of the goods described in their manifests. In some stances dining the war • such certificates were: in fact issued by . the United States customs officials and in other cases by British, consuls under whose supervision the cargoes were on but the British, government declined, to recomuze them as conclusive, on the ground, that the certificates afforded no assurance against subsequent augmentation of the cargo , at sea. In some cases, it may be remarke4 treaties have been concluded between the United States and certain foreign powers providing, that certificates of this kind shall be accepted by the contracting, parties, if one should be: belligerent end the other neutral, as conclusive that the cargo • is not• 'contraband.
Bibliography...a Aside from the general treatises • on international law see Adierley. Tones, in Wart Chapter V, and Garner, %Contraband, Right of Search and Con. tinous VOyage) (American Journal of inter national Law, April 1915, pp. 372 ff).