Prize (law)

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Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, and vessels captured as a result of armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo. In the past it was common that the capturing force would be allotted a share of the worth of the captured prize. Nations often granted letters of marque which would entitle private parties to capture enemy property, usually ships. Once the ship was secured on friendly territory, it would be made the subject of a prize case, an in rem proceeding in which the court determined the status of the condemned property and the manner in which it was to be disposed of. Due to changes in the law of war and the nature of warfare in general, prize litigation is very rare or nonexistent today.

There have been several abortive attempt to form an International Prize Court to hear appeals regarding captures of prizes.

Prize law under U.S. jurisdiction is codified in Title 10 of the United States Code, Chapter 655, Sections 7651-7681. As noted above, due to changes in the nature of naval warfare, the U.S. courts have not tried any prize cases under these statutes.