US DOJ TO REVIVE PRIZE COURTS....

[MikeKozlowski]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-we ... DJEwe9c9pg

Mike

[Belushi TD]

I know there was an international treaty to get rid of privateering.

Is the US a signatory?

I understand that what they're talking about is the adjudication of seizures under a different set of laws, but I thought prize courts were included under the banning of privateering.

Belushi TD

[Pdf27]

I understand that what they're talking about is the adjudication of seizures under a different set of laws, but I thought prize courts were included under the banning of privateering.

In the UK at least, the major customers of prize courts were RN crews who were paid for capturing enemy ships. Interestingly, one eighth of the prize money would go to the person signing the orders that sent the ship out - assuming the US had the same rules coped from the UK then this would presumably go to President Trump or Secretary Hegseth?

[MikeKozlowski]

...The US has never signed the Treaty of Paris, which bans privateering - but we have always followed its terms and conditions. The primary reason for that is that we can't sign a treaty that would override the Constitution (which, to this day, still officially allows Letters of Marque).

And as far as prize money....well, the last award in USN history was only 79 years ago:

The Odenwald Incident

The Date: November 6, 1941.

The Event: The light cruiser USS Omaha and the destroyer USS Somers intercepted the German blockade runner Odenwald in the mid-Atlantic.

The Action: The German crew tried to scuttle the ship and fled in lifeboats. A boarding party from the Omaha managed to save the ship, stop the flooding, and sail it to Puerto Rico.

The Payout Boarding Party: An admiralty court ruled in 1947 that members of the boarding party and prize crew received $3,000 each.

Other Crewmen: Remaining crew members on the Omaha and Somers were awarded two months' pay and allowances.

Historical Significance: This case stands as the final time the U.S. Navy paid out prize or salvage money to sailors for capturing an enemy vessel.

Mike

[M.Becker]

Oh boy, even two months of pay and allowances is a nice windfall. Three Grand in 1947