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

See Examples For:

prize court

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

In an analogous way, decisions of the prize court of one country are quoted in the courts of other countries, although they are not binding on them.

From Rebuilding Britain A Survey of Problems of Reconstruction After the World War by Hopkinson, Alfred, Sir

Even the cargoes in such circumstances should not have been condemned without the decision of a prize court, much less should the vessels have been sunk.

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

“I shall take them with the vessel to Lagos or some other port where a prize court is held, and the judge will no doubt order the best to be done with them.”

From Hunting the Skipper The Cruise of the "Seafowl" Sloop by Piffard, Harold

I don't suppose they would have fetched a third of that amount had they been sold in the ordinary way by auction by the prize court.

From At Aboukir and Acre A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)