prize court

American  

noun

1. a court whose function it is to adjudicate on prizes taken in war.

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prize court British  

noun

1. law a court having jurisdiction to determine how property captured at sea in wartime is to be distributed

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Etymology

Origin of prize court

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Example Sentences

Before the captor could take title to a vessel, he would have to bring the ship into port and have it condemned before a prize court, which would determine the lawfulness of the capture.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

His suggestion was at once acted on; a French cruiser went out into the Channel, seized the offending ship, took it into port, where a French prize court promptly condemned it.

From The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I by Hendrick, Burton Jesse

The prize court not only overruled the objection, but condemned me to make restitution of all sums received in ransom for property taken at Maranham.

From Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese Domination, Volume 2 by Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, Earl of

She does not take her captures within the jurisdiction of a prize court.

From New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915 April-September, 1915 by Various

She does not take her captures within the jurisdiction of a prize court; she carries no prize crew which she can put on board the prize she seizes.

From New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915 April-September, 1915 by Various