An Interpolity Legal Regime in the eighteenth century: procedural law of prize.

This article examines prize law, a legal regime governing the capture and disposition of enemy property at sea during wartime in the European imperial world before the twentieth century, focusing specifically on its procedural law in the long eighteenth century. It argues that prize law functioned as an interpolity legal regime, created and shaped by mariners, merchants, and jurists operating between empires rather than solely by sovereign states, with key features including the quasi-judicial role of privateering captains, informal and often silent translation practices in multilingual proceedings, and the application of foreign law by prize tribunals. The procedural norms of prize law were largely unwritten and decentralized, allowing flexibility but also enabling actors with control over evidence and interpretation to influence outcomes significantly. This interpolity character made prize law a distinctive and powerful form of legal ordering that operated across imperial boundaries, reflecting both the practical realities of maritime warfare and the limitations of imperial authority at the time.