Prize Court

A prize court is a national tribunal that adjudicates the lawfulness of captures made at sea in wartime: enemy ships and cargo, and neutral vessels seized for blockade running or carrying contraband. Acting under the law of prize, a branch of the law of armed conflict at sea, the court condemns lawful prizes, which then pass to the captor or the state, or releases vessels taken without legal cause. The 1907 Hague Convention XII attempted an international prize court but never entered force; prize jurisdiction remains national.