In the case of the Stephen Hart, a British schooner, bound from London to Cuba with a cargo of war supplies, captured in 1862 off the coast of Florida, Judge Betts condemned both vessel and cargo. He maintained that:—
"The commerce is in the destination and intended use of the property laden on board of the vessel, and not in the incidental, ancillary, and temporary voyage of the vessel, which may be but one of many carriers through which the property is to reach its true and original destination.... If the guilty intention, that the contraband goods should reach a port of the enemy, existed when such goods left their English port, that guilty intention cannot be obliterated by the innocent intention of stopping at a neutral port on the way.... This court holds that, in all such cases, the transportation or voyage of the contraband goods is to be considered as a unit, from the port of lading to the port of delivery in the enemy's country; that if any part of such voyage or transportation be unlawful, it is unlawful throughout; and that the vessel and her cargo are subject to capture; as well before arriving at the first neutral port at which she touches after her departure from England, as on the voyage or transportation by sea from such neutral port to the port of the enemy."[481]
This position of the United States, which has been so criticised, is liable to be abused to the disadvantage of neutral commerce. The absence of some such rule would open the door to acts which, though neutral in form, would be hostile in fact. The present tendency seems to be to allow the exercise of a certain amount of supervision over commerce of neutrals when it is destined to neutral ports having convenient communication with the enemy. This may extend to the seizure of neutral vessels bound for that port only in form, provided there is no doubt as to the true destination, but such seizure must be made with the greatest care not to violate the proper rights of neutrals. There is less reason for the general exercise of this supervision over vessels sailing to a neutral port which is separated from the belligerent territory by a considerable expanse of water, than for its exercise over vessels sailing to a port which is separated only by a narrow expanse of water. In cases where the neutral port is upon the same land area with the belligerent territory and has easy communication by rail or otherwise, so that it may become a natural port of entry for goods bound for one of the belligerents, the other belligerent may properly exercise a greater degree of authority in the supervision of commerce than would ordinarily be allowable. It was on this ground that England could justify her action in the seizure of vessels bound for Delagoa Bay during the war in South Africa, in 1899-1900; and similarly Italy justified her seizure of the Dutch vessel, Doelwyk, in August, 1896, during the Abyssinian war. This vessel was bound for a friendly port, but a port from which its cargo of war supplies would pass overland to the enemy without difficulty.
[§ 139. Prize and Prize Courts]
Prize is the general term applied to captures made at sea. The ships and goods of an enemy liable to capture by the laws of war, and the ships and goods of a neutral when involved in acts forbidden by the laws of war, may be brought into port for adjudication and disposition. Enemy's goods, except contraband of war, are not liable to capture on neutral ships.[482] Certain ships engaged in charitable or scientific pursuits, and coast fishing vessels, are exempt from capture,[483] as are also certain specially exempted by treaty. In general other goods and vessels of the enemy are liable to capture. Contraband goods of a neutral, vessels attempting to violate blockade, vessels performing unneutral service, or goods or vessels otherwise involved in a way contrary to the laws of war are liable to capture.
A prize court is the tribunal which determines the rights of the parties concerned in the capture and the disposition of the goods or vessel. All captures belong to the state in whose name they are made. An inchoate title to the prize is acquired by possession, but complete title is acquired only after condemnation by a properly constituted prize court.
A prize court may be established by the belligerent in its own state, in the territory where the belligerent has military jurisdiction or in the territory of an ally.[484] The establishment of a court in neutral jurisdiction is not permitted. When Genêt, the minister of France, tried, in 1793, to set up consular prize courts in the United States, Washington protested and Genêt was recalled. Takahashi says, "It is clear that if we admit the prevailing principle concerning the establishment of a prize court in a belligerent's own dominions or its ally's, or in occupied territory, we may infer that a court can be held on the deck of a man-of-war—a floating portion of a territorial sovereignty—lying in the above-mentioned waters, provided the processes of procedure are followed."[485] He maintains, however, that a court might not be established on the high seas, as proper procedure for the interested parties would not be possible.
The tribunals which have jurisdiction of prize cases differ in the different countries. In the United States, the District Courts possess the powers of a prize court, and an appeal lies to the Supreme Court.[486]
The methods of procedure of prize courts are similar in different countries. The practice in the United States is as follows:—
Dana calls the prize tribunal an inquest by the state, and regards it as the means by which the sovereign "desires and is required to inform himself, by recognized modes, of the lawfulness of the capture." The commanding officer of the capturing vessel, after securing the cargo and documents of the captured vessel, makes an inventory of the last named, seals them and sends them, together with the master, one or more of the other officers, the supercargo, purser, or agent of the prize, and also any one on board supposed to have information, under charge of a prize master and a prize crew, into port to be placed in the custody of the court. The prize master delivers the documents and the inventory to prize commissioners, who are appointed by the court, and reports to the district attorney, who files a libel against the prize property and sees "that the proper preparatory evidence is taken by the prize commissioners, and that the prize commissioners also take the depositions de bene esse of the prize crew, and of other transient persons cognizant of any facts bearing on condemnation or distribution."[487] The libel should "properly contain only a description of the prize, with dates, etc., for identification, and the fact that it was taken as prize of war by the cruiser, and brought to the court for adjudication, that is, of facts enough to show that it is a maritime cause of prize jurisdiction and not a case of municipal penalty or forfeiture."[488] Notice is then published that citizens or neutrals, but not enemies, interested in the prize property shall appear and enter their claims. As there are no allegations in the libel, the answer of the claimant is only a general denial under oath. The prize commissioners then examine the witnesses privately; and this evidence, which is kept in secret until complete, is called in preparatorio.[489] If the court is in doubt it will order "further proof," that is besides the ship, cargo, documents, and witnesses. The burden is on the claimant to prove title.[490] If the claimant's right is not sufficiently established, the property is condemned. The captors are, however, liable to damages if there is found no probable cause for the capture.[491]