In force · As amended up to 2026-08
4. The Bill is designed to achieve the objectives mentioned above. The Bill inter alia provides adjudication of cases by Prize Courts consisting of one or more persons who will be citizens of India, and are qualified to be appointed as Judge of a High Courts. The Bill also provides that an appeal from the Prize Court would lie to the Central Government.
NEW DELHI; JAGJIVAN RAM.
The 12 th December , 1971.
4. Jurisdiction of Prize Courts in prize cases.— (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every Prize Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of each prize and each proceeding for the condemnation of property as prize, whether such prize is taken before or after the commencement of this Act, if the prize is—
(a) brought into or seized within the territory of India;
(b) brought into or seized within a locality in the temporary or permanent possession of, or occupied by, the Armed Forces of the Union; or
(c) appropriated for the use of the Central Government,
and is brought within the territorial jurisdiction of that Prize Court:
Provided that in the case of a Naval prize, the Prize Court shall have jurisdiction only if the prize captured or seized is brought to a port or place lying within the territorial jurisdiction of that Prize Court.
(2) Every Prize Court shall also have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of a prize in which the prize property—
(a) is lost or entirely destroyed; or
(b) cannot be brought in for adjudication because of its nature and condition.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) , a Prize Court shall take cognizance of and judicially proceed upon all manners of captures, seizures, prizes and reprisals of all ships, vessels, aircrafts and goods that are captured or seized, and shall hear and determine the same, and in accordance with this Act and rules made thereunder, shall adjudge and condemn all such ships, vessels, aircrafts and goods belonging to any country or State or the nationals, citizens or subjects thereof, as may be captured or seized as prize during a war or as a measure of reprisal during an armed conflict or in the exercise of the right of self-defence.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Prize Court may in respect of any matter for which no provision or insufficient provision is made, by or under this Act, apply the principles of the International Law regulating that matter.
5 . Transfer of cases.— (1) Where proceedings are pending in any Prize Court against any ship, aircraft or goods, the Prize Court may, at any stage of the proceedings, on application being made by the proper officer of the Central Government and upon being satisfied that the proceedings so far as they relate to the ship, aircraft or goods, or any part thereof, would be more conveniently conducted in another Prize Court, make an order remitting the proceedings or the proceedings so far as they relate to the ship, aircraft or goods, or any part of the goods, as the case may be, to such other Prize Court.
(2) Where any proceedings have been so remitted to another Prize Court, that other Prize Court shall have the same jurisdiction to deal with the matter as if the subject matter of those proceedings had originally been seized within its jurisdiction or brought within its jurisdiction after capture or seizure, as the case may be, and any order made or action taken in those proceedings before the order of remission shall be deemed to have been made or taken by or in that Court.
6 . Appeals.— (1) Any person aggrieved by an order or decree of the Prize Court may prefer an appeal to the Central Government within a period of ninety days from the date on which such order or decree has been made.
(2) The provisions of sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (36 of 1963), shall so far as may be, apply for computation of the period specified in sub-section (1).
Source: India Code