International Law. A Treatise Volume Ii Part 118

(2) The master or owner, or his agent, may, with the consent of the re-captors, unload and dispose of the goods on board the ship before adjudication.

(3) If the ship does not, within six months, return to a port of His Majesty's dominions, the re-captors may nevertheless inst.i.tute proceedings against the ship or goods in the High Court, or in any prize court in a British possession, and the court may thereupon award prize salvage as aforesaid to the re-captors, and may enforce payment thereof, either by warrant of arrest against the ship or goods, or in the same manner as a judgment of the court in which the proceedings are inst.i.tuted may be enforced.

_Prize Bounty._

[Sidenote: Prize bounty to officers and crew present in case of capture or destruction of enemy's ship. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 42.]]

32. If, in relation to any war, His Majesty is pleased to declare, by proclamation or Order in Council, his intention to grant prize bounty to the officers and crews of his ships of war, then such of the officers and crew of any of His Majesty's ships of war as are actually present at the taking or destroying of any armed ship of any of His Majesty's enemies shall be ent.i.tled to have distributed among them as prize bounty a sum calculated at such rates and in such manner as may be specified in the proclamation or Order in Council.

[Sidenote: Ascertainment of amount of prize bounty. [27 & 28 Vict. c.

25, s. 43.]]

33.--(1) A prize court shall make a decree declaring the t.i.tle of the officers and crew of His Majesty's ship to the prize bounty, and stating the amount thereof.

(2) The decree shall be subject to appeal as other decrees of the court.

Part V.--SPECIAL CASES OF JURISDICTION.

[Sidenote: Jurisdiction in case of capture in land expedition. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 34.]]

34. Where, in an expedition of any of His Majesty's naval or naval and military forces against a fortress or possession on land goods belonging to the state of the enemy, or to a public trading company of the enemy exercising powers of government, are taken in the fortress or possession, or a ship is taken in waters defended by or belonging to the fortress or possession, a prize court shall have jurisdiction as to the goods or ships so taken, and any goods taken on board the ship, as in case of prize.

[Sidenote: Jurisdiction in case of prize taken in expedition with ally.

[27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 35.]]

35. Where any ship or goods is or are taken by any of His Majesty's naval or naval and military forces while acting in conjunction with any forces of any of His Majesty's allies, a prize court shall have jurisdiction as to the same as in case of prize, and shall have power, after condemnation, to apportion the due share of the proceeds to His Majesty's ally, the proportionate amount and the disposition of which share shall be such as may from time to time be agreed between His Majesty and His Majesty's ally.

[Sidenote: Jurisdiction of High Court on pet.i.tions of right as under 23 & 24 Vict. c. 34. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 52.]]

36.--(1) In any case where a pet.i.tion of right under the Pet.i.tions of Right Act, 1860, is presented and the subject-matter of the pet.i.tion or any material part thereof arises out of the exercise of any belligerent right on behalf of the Crown, or would be cognizable in a prize court within His Majesty's dominions if the same were a matter in dispute between private persons, the pet.i.tion may, if the subject thinks fit, be int.i.tuled in the High Court as a prize court.

(2) Any pet.i.tion of right under the last-mentioned Act, whether int.i.tuled in the High Court or not, may be prosecuted in that court if the Lord Chancellor thinks fit so to direct.

(3) The provisions of this Act relative to appeal, and to the making of orders for regulating the procedure and practice of the High Court as a prize court, shall extend to the case of any such pet.i.tion of right int.i.tuled or directed to be prosecuted in that court; and, subject thereto, all the provisions of the Pet.i.tions of Right Act, 1860, shall apply with such adaptations as may be necessary in the case of any such pet.i.tion of right; and for the purposes of this section the terms "court" and "judge" in that Act shall respectively be understood to include the High Court as a prize court and the judges thereof, and other terms shall have the respective meanings given to them in that Act.

Part VI.--OFFENCES.

[Sidenote: Offences by captors. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 37.]]

37. A prize court, on proof of any offence against the law of nations, or against this Act, or any Act relating to naval discipline, or against any Order in Council or royal proclamation, or of any breach of His Majesty's instructions relating to prize, or of any act of disobedience to the orders of the Admiralty, or to the command of a superior officer, committed by the captors in relation to any ship or goods taken as prize, or in relation to any person on board any such ship, may, on condemnation, reserve the prize to His Majesty's disposal, notwithstanding any grant that may have been made by His Majesty in favour of captors.

[Sidenote: Perjury. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 50.]]

38. If any person wilfully and corruptly swears, declares, or affirms falsely in any prize cause or appeal, or in any proceeding under this Act, or in respect of any matter required by this Act to be verified on oath, or suborns any other person to do so, he shall be deemed guilty of perjury, or of subornation of perjury (as the case may be), and shall be liable to be punished accordingly.

[Sidenote: Disobedience to, or desertion of, convoy. [27 & 28 Vict. c.

25, s. 46.]]

39. If the master or other person having the command of any British ship under the convoy of any of His Majesty's ships of war, wilfully disobeys any lawful signal, instruction, or command of the commander of the convoy, or without leave deserts the convoy, he shall be liable to be proceeded against in the High Court at the suit of His Majesty in His Office of Admiralty, and upon conviction to be fined, in the discretion of the Court, any sum not exceeding five hundred pounds, and to suffer imprisonment for such time, not exceeding one year, as the Court may adjudge.

Part VII.--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

_Ransom._

[Sidenote: Power for regulating ransom by Order in Council. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 45.]]

40.--(1) His Majesty in Council may, in relation to any war, make such orders as may seem expedient according to circ.u.mstances for prohibiting or allowing, wholly or in certain cases or subject to any conditions or regulations or otherwise as may from time to time seem meet, the ransoming or the entering into any contract or agreement for the ransoming of any ship or goods belonging to any of His Majesty's subjects, and taken as prize by any of His Majesty's enemies.

(2) Any contract or agreement entered into, and any bill, bond, or other security given for ransom of any ship or goods, shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court as a prize court (subject to appeal to the Supreme Prize Court), and if entered into or given in contravention of any such Order in Council shall be deemed to have been entered into or given for an illegal consideration.

(3) If any person ransoms or enters into any contract or agreement for ransoming any ship or goods, in contravention of any such Order in Council, he shall for every such offence be liable to be proceeded against in the High Court at the suit of His Majesty in His Office of Admiralty, and on conviction to be fined, in the discretion of the Court, any sum not exceeding five hundred pounds.

_Customs Duties and Regulations._

[Sidenote: Prize ships and goods liable to customs duties and forfeiture. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 47.]]

41.--(1) All ships and goods taken as prize and brought into a port of His Majesty's dominions shall be liable to and be charged with the same rates and charges and duties of customs as under any Act relating to the customs in force at the port may be chargeable on other ships and goods of the like description.

(2) All goods brought in as prize which would on the voluntary importation thereof be liable to forfeiture, or subject to any restriction, under the laws relating to the customs, shall be deemed to be so liable and subject, unless the Customs authority see fit to authorise the sale or delivery thereof for home use or exportation, unconditionally or subject to such conditions and regulations as they may direct.

[Sidenote: Regulations of customs as to prize ships and goods. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 48.]]

42. Where any ship or goods taken as prize is or are brought into a port of His Majesty's dominions, the master or other person in charge or command of the ship which has been taken or in which the goods are brought shall, on arrival at such port, bring to at the proper place of discharge, and shall, when required by any officer of customs, deliver an account in writing under his hand concerning such ship and goods, giving such particulars relating thereto as may be in his power, and shall truly answer all questions concerning such ship or goods asked by any such officer, and in default shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds, such forfeiture to be enforced as forfeitures for offences against the laws relating to the customs in force at the port are enforced, and every such ship shall be liable to such searches as other ships are liable to, and the officers of the customs may freely go on board such ship and bring to the King's or other warehouse any goods on board the same, subject, nevertheless, to such regulations in respect of ships of war belonging to His Majesty as shall from time to time be issued by His Majesty.

[Sidenote: Sale of prize goods and power to remit customs duties. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 49.]]

43. Goods taken as prize may be sold either for home consumption or for exportation; and if in the former case the proceeds thereof, after payment of duties of customs, are insufficient to satisfy the just and reasonable claims thereon, the Customs authority may remit the whole or such part of the said duties as they see fit.

_Capture by Ship other than a Ship of War._

[Sidenote: Prizes taken by Ships other than ships of war to be droits of Admiralty. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 39.]]

44. Any ship or goods taken as prize by any of the officers and crew of a ship other than a ship of war of His Majesty shall, on condemnation, belong to His Majesty in His office of Admiralty.

_Supplemental._

[Sidenote: Saving for rights of Crown; effect of treaties, &c. [27 & 28 Vict. c. 25, s. 55.]]

45. Nothing in this Act shall--

(1) give to the officers and crew of any of His Majesty's ships of war any right or claim in or to any ship or goods taken as prize or the proceeds thereof, it being the intent of this Act that such officers and crews shall continue to take only such interest (if any) in the proceeds of prizes as may be from time to time granted to them by the Crown; or

(2) affect the operation of any existing treaty or convention with any foreign power; or

(3) take away or abridge the power of the Crown to enter into any treaty or convention with any foreign power containing any stipulation that may seem meet concerning any matter to which this Act relates; or