prize court

noun

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

prize court

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of prize court¹

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95

Example Sentences

Wall, we claimed that they all must be diwided up accordin' to law, bein' a lawful prize, an' we wasn't goin' to wait fer no prize court, nuther.

From Project Gutenberg

The elaborate webs spun by German traders and revealed by intercepted correspondence were exposed in the Prize Court.

From Project Gutenberg

It is noticeable that a very large part of the cargoes condemned by the British Prize Court, as actually intended for the enemy though consigned to other pretended destinations, consists of goods from Latin America.

From Project Gutenberg

"I shall tell the governor that I have ordered them to be taken to Kingston, where there is a regular prize court, and therefore it will not be necessary to trouble with their manifests here."

From Project Gutenberg

We shall require you to sign in the presence of a magistrate here a formal document acknowledging that the vessel was absolutely captured, and in possession of the pirates, and that she was recaptured by his majesty's schooner the Arrow, and to sign a bond on behalf of the owners to pay the legal proportion of the value of the ship and cargo to the admiralty prize court in London.

From Project Gutenberg