PRIZE (OF., Fr. prise, fem. sg. of pris, p.p. of prendre, from Lat. premiere, prehendere, to seize, take). In international law, a term ap plied to all captures of property made during the course of war upon the high seas or in the ter ritorial waters of a belligerent. The right to capture both the public property of an enemy on the sea and even the private property of his sub jects is recognized by the rules of international law, although the right to capture private prop erty on land has been generally abandoned. The capture of enemy's property cannot be lawfully made in neutral waters, and prizes thus taken must be restored to their owners with such repa ration as the neutral Government may demand for the violation of its neutrality. Without authority the act of capture must he regarded as piracy and punishable as such. Since the authority to cap ture enemy's property is derived from the bellig erent Government, it follows that the title of the captor to the prize which he has taken is subject to the disposition of his Government according to law. The Government may therefore vest the title in the captor, or it may appropriate the prize to its own use, or destroy it, or sell it, dis tributing the proceeds among the captors in such manner as the laws of the State may prescribe.
A question of some importance in the law of prizes is the determination of the exact date when the title passes from the original owner to the captor. The right of the captor to that which undoubtedly belongs to his enemy is complete as between him and his enemy so soon as the cap ture is complete; hut as between him and a neu tral State which may lay claim to a whole or part of the prize, further evidence of the lawful ness of the capture must be forthcoming. Ac cording to one view, the title passes at the mo ment at which the capture is definitely effected and all resistance has ceased, as is evidenced by striking the tlag or voluntarily surrendering. Others claim that the title vests in the captor after twenty-four hours of secure possession. Still others insist that the capture is complete only when the prize has been carried infra prw sidia and is thus secure against the possibility of recapture. Whatever may be the correct rule, it would seem that the Government to which the captor belongs has an inchoate title at least from the moment the act of seizure has been accom plished. This title may be contested by a neutral Government on the ground tl that ,..a. _Ae capture was made in its waters, or by its subjects, nr for other reasons. The inchoate title, therefore, is made complete by having the prize sent in to a port of the captor and the question of the law fulness of the capture authoritatively determined by a judicial tribunal. (See PRIZE COURT.) To this end it is the first duty of the captor to bring in his prize for adjudication if it is capable of making the voyage, otherwise he should destroy it as enemy's property if there be no doubt as to its character, or sell it and turn over the pro ceeds to the jurisdiction of the proper court for distribution. Formerly the usages of war per
witted the captor to take his prize into a neu tral port, but neutrals may forbid the use of their port, for this purpose, if they see fit. and this is almost the invariable practice except in case of distress or other emergency, and then only for as short a time as circumstances will allow.
A prize intended to be sent into port for adju dication is put in charge of a prize-master who is aided by a prize crew. They are charged with taking care that the vessel is not despoiled or damaged and that it is.duly delivered to the cus tody of the court with the ship's paper,. register, etc. in order to avoid depletion of the fighting strength resulting from the necessity of supply ing prize crews where a number of captures are made, or where for other reasons it may be in convenient to send a prize into port, it is fre quently provided by municipal law and is recog nized by the law- of nations that a captor may destroy his prize, subject. of course, to the liability of the captor's Government for any loss or injury occasioned to neutral, thereby. The right of the captor to accept a ransom fur his prize is also recognized. This is an arrangement between the captor and the master of the captured vessel by which the vessel is allowed to continue its voyage upon the promise of the master to pay a specified stun to the captor. The ransom con tract serves as a safe conduct for the vessel dur ing the remainder of the voyage and is a guar antee against capture by another vessel of the captor's Government or that of his ally, but not against the of the sea. Ransom contracts are valid instrtunents under international law. and it is customary to allow either party to bring suit on it in the courts of the other. As a means of encouraging the capture of an enemy's vessels, the laws of many States provide for the offering of special rewards to those taking part in operations leading to the capture of vessels belonging to an enemy. Such is the prize money heretofore allowed by the Government of the United States, which consisted of the proceeds of the sale of captured vessels and cargoes law fully captured and regularly condemned, and dis tributed among officers and crew. This provision for prize money, which had been a law of the United States from the establishment of the Gov ernment. was abolished by an act of March 3. 1899. By this act all laws authorizing the distribution of prize money as well as for the payment of bounties and head-money were repealed. See ADMIRALTY; CONTRABAND OF WW AR; DECLARATION OF PARIS ; PRIVATEERING ; PRIZE COURTS ; RECAP CURE; WAR.