Prize (law)

Blanche towing Pique, a French frigate captured as a British prize in 1795

In admiralty law prizes (from the Old French prise, "taken, seized"[1]) are equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, the capturing force would commonly be allotted a share of the worth of the captured prize. Nations often granted letters of marque that 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 the property was to be disposed of.[2]

  1. ^ "prize | Etymology, origin and meaning of prize by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  2. ^ Black's Law Dictionary (Rev. 4th ed.). West Publishing Co. 1968. p. 900.