The International Prize Court was an

international court International courts are formed by treaties between Nation, nations, or by an international organization such as the United Nations – and include ''ad hoc'' tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under nationa ...

proposed at the beginning of the 20th century, to hear

prize cases ''Prize Cases'', 67 U.S. (2 Black) 635 (1863), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1862 during the American Civil War. The Supreme Court's decision declared the blockade of the Southern ports ordered by President ...

. An international agreement to create it, the ''Convention Relative to the Creation of an International Prize Court'', was made at the Second Hague Conference in 1907 but never came into force. The capturing of prizes (enemy equipment, vehicles, and especially ships) during wartime is a tradition that goes back as far as organized warfare itself. The International Prize Court was to hear appeals from national courts concerning prize cases. Even as a draft, the convention was innovative for the time, in being both the first ever treaty for a truly international court (as opposed to a mere

arbitral tribunal An arbitral tribunal or arbitration tribunal, also arbitration commission, arbitration committee or arbitration council is a panel of adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of arbitration. The tribunal may consist of ...

), and in providing individuals with access to the court, going against the prevailing doctrines of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

at the time, according to which only states had rights and duties under international law. The convention was opposed, particularly by elements within the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, as a violation of

national sovereignty A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) co ...

. The 1907 convention was modified by the ''Additional Protocol to the Convention Relative to the Creation of an International Prize Court'', done at the Hague on October 18, 1910. The protocol was an attempt to resolve some concerns expressed by the United States at the court, which felt it to be in violation of its constitutional provision that provides for the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

being the final judicial authority. However, neither the convention nor the subsequent protocol ever entered into force, since only

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

ratified the agreements. As a result, the court never came into existence. On February 15, 1911, the U.S. Senate ratified the International Prize Court Convention. A number of ideas from the International Prize Court proposal can be seen in present-day international courts, such as its provision for judges ''

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

'', later adopted in the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

and the subsequent

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

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