‘Prize’ is a terminology of admiralty law, which denotes the capture of enemy ships, vessels or its cargo during armed conflict.
Earlier it was customary to reward the capturing force with a share of the value of such captured prize. Nations often empowered private parties to capture enemy ships or vessels. When the arrested ship was eventually taken to friendly territory, it would become the subject matter of a prize case in which the court would decide upon the fate of the arrested vessel and the manner in which it would be disposed of among the different claimants.
However, in the wake sea change in the nature of warfare and the laws of war, prize litigation is something not heard of today. Although Title 10 of the US Code deals with prize law, the provision could never be made use of and has just remained on the statute books.
