ACT of the British Parliament to amend the Enactments relating to Prize Courts.

[5 & 6 Geo. V, c. 57.]

[July 2, 1915.]

Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1.--(1.) Where proceedings are pending in any Prize Court against any ship or cargo, the Court may at any stage of the proceedings, on application being made by the proper officer of the Crown, and upon being satisfied that the proceedings, or the proceedings so far as they relate to the cargo or any part thereof, would be more conveniently conducted in any other Prize Court, make an order remitting the proceedings, or the proceedings so far as they relate to the cargo or to any part of the cargo, to such other Prize Court.

(2.) Where any proceedings have been remitted to another Prize Court that other 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 been brought within its jurisdiction after capture, and any order or other steps made or taken in those proceedings before the order of remission shall be deemed to have been made or taken by or in that Court.

2. A Prize Court may, as respects any cause or matter within its jurisdiction, and on the application of the proper officer of the Crown, declare that any order or decree made by it, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, is enforceable within the jurisdiction of another Prize Court, and shall, on the like application, have power to enforce any decree or order which another Prize Court has declared to be enforceable within the jurisdiction of such first-mentioned Court.

3-(1.) Where a Prize Court under this Act orders the remission of any proceedings, or declares that any order or decree is enforceable by another Prize Court, the first-mentioned Court may order the subject-matter of the proceedings, or of the order or decree, to be removed, in such manner and subject to such conditions as the Court thinks fit, into the jurisdiction of the other Court, and, where any such order of removal is made, either Court may direct that any expenses incurred in the removal shall be borne by the cargo or any part of the cargo or the ship in such manner as the Court thinks proper.

(2.) For the purpose of the voyage of a ship from the jurisdiction of one Court to that of another under such an order of removal, the ship, if not a British ship, shall be treated as if it were a British ship registered in the United Kingdom.

(3.) The power of His Majesty in Council to make rules for regulating the procedure and practice of Prize Courts shall extend to making rules for carrying this Act into effect.

(4.) The powers conferred by this Act are without prejudice to any other powers which the High Court in England may possess for the like purposes independently of this Act, and to the obligation imposed on Prize Courts by section 9 of "The Naval Prize Act, 1864."*

4.-(1.) The power conferred by section 10 of "The Naval Prize Act, 1864," to grant salaries in lieu of fees to judges of Prize Courts shall be extended so as also to confer a power of granting a remuneration by way of a lump sum, and, as so extended, shall, notwithstanding anything in any other enactment, apply also to officers of Prize Courts or performing duties in connection with matters of prize:

Provided that the powers under that section or this section shall not be exercised as respects any Prize Court in India except on the application of the Governor General of India in Council, or as respects any Prize Court in the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, or Newfoundland, except on the application of the Governor General or of the Governor in Council, as the case may be.

(2.) This section shall be deemed to have had effect since the commencement of the present war.

5. This Act may be cited as "The Prize Courts Act, 1915," and shall be construed as one with "The Naval Prize Act, 1864"; and "The Naval Prize Acts, 1864 to 1914," and "The Prize Courts (Egypt, Zanzibar, and Cyprus) Act, 1914,"† and this Act may be cited together as The Naval Prize Acts, 1864 to 1915."

ACT of the British Parliament to amend "The Customs (War Powers) Acts, 1915.”

[5 & 6 Geo. V, c. 102.]

[January 27, 1916.]

BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. Where in pursuance of the powers conferred by section 6 of "The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1915," as extended by section 2 of "The Customs (War Powers) (No. 2) Act, 1915,"§ * See "Hertslet's Commercial Treaties," Vol. XII, page 1038. Vol. CIX, page 54.

† Vol. CVIII, page 42.

§ Vol. CIX, page 6.

any goods have been seized on the ground that the Commissioners of Customs and Excise have reason to suspect that the country of origin of the goods is an enemy country, or that the goods are being imported in contravention of the law relating to trading with the enemy, the notice of the seizure required by section 207 of "The Customs Consolidation Act, 1876," to be given to the owner of the goods may, if the owner has no address in the United Kingdom, be given by the publication of a notice of the seizure in the London, Edinburgh, or Dublin Gazette, as the case may require.

2.-(1.) Subsection (1) of section 5 of "The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1915," as amended by section 1 of "The Customs (War Powers) (No. 2) Act, 1915," shall apply to cases where a declaration as to the person or country to whom any goods are ultimately destined is made in a shipping document lodged after shipment, in like manner as it applies to a declaration made in the course of making entry before shipment.

(2.) In the case of proceedings taken under the said subsection, an averment in the information that the defendant has failed to produce evidence to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that the goods in question have not reached a person who is an enemy, or treated as an enemy, or a country which is enemy, or treated as enemy, under any law for the time being in force relating to trading with the enemy shall be sufficient unless the defendant proves to the contrary.

3.-(1.) Pending the issue of a Proclamation or the making of an Order in or of Council under section 8 of "The Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1879," or under "The Exportation of Arms Act, 1900 "'* (as amended in each case by any subsequent enactment), prohibiting or restricting the exportation of any article, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise shall, if the Board of Trade so direct, have power to take any action for preventing the exportation of that article as if the Proclamation or Order were in force at the time.

(2.) Where, before the passing of this Act, any Proclamation or Order under either of the said Acts as so amended has been issued or made and in anticipation thereof the Commissioners of Customs and Excise have taken any action for preventing the exportation of any articles subsequently comprised in the Proclamation or Order, such action of the Commissioners shall be deemed to have been as valid in all respects as if the Proclamation or Order had been in force at the time when such action was taken.

4. The following subsection shall be added to section 5 of "The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1915 :

"If any person who is required by any order of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under section 139 of 'The

* Vol. XCII, page 1284.

Customs Consolidation Act, 1876,' to make entry and obtain clearance before shipment attempts to ship any goods in contravention of the order, he shall be liable in respect of each offence to a penalty of 100l., without prejudice to the operation of any other provisions of that section or any other provisions of that Act.

5. Section 6 of "The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1915," shall apply to all goods which at the commencement of this Act are under detention as being of suspected enemy origin, notwithstanding that they were originally detained or imported into the United Kingdom before the commencement of the firstmentioned Act.

6. This Act may be cited as The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1916," and shall be construed as one with "The Customs (War Powers) Act, 1915," and "The Customs (War Powers) (No. 2) Act, 1915, " and those Acts and this Act may be cited together as 'The Customs (War Powers) Acts, 1915 and 1916."

ACT of the British Parliament to amend "The Trading with the Enemy Acts."

[5 & 6 Geo. V, c. 105.]

[January 27, 1916.]

BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1.-(1.) Where it appears to the Board of Trade that the business carried on in the United Kingdom by any person, firm, or company is, by reason of the enemy nationality or enemy association of that person, firm, or company, or of the members of that firm or company or any of them, or otherwise, carried on wholly or mainly for the benefit of or under the control of enemy subjects, the Board of Trade shall, unless for any special reason it appears to them inexpedient to do so, make an order either—

(a.) prohibiting the person, firm, or company from carrying on the business, except for the purposes and subject to the conditions, if any, specified in the order; or

(b.) requiring the business to be wound up.

The Board of Trade may at any time revoke or vary any such order, and may, in any case where they have made an order prohibiting or limiting the carrying on of the business, at any time, if they think it expedient, substitute for that order an order requiring the business to be wound up.

(2.) Where the Board of Trade make any such order they may at the same time or at any time subsequently appoint a controller to control and supervise the carrying out of the order and, if the case requires, to conduct the winding up of the business, and in any case where it appears expedient to the Board of Trade, the Board may, as occasion requires, confer on the controller such powers as are exercisable by a liquidator in a voluntary winding-up of a company (including power in the name of the person, firm, or company, or in his own name, and by deed or otherwise, to convey or transfer any property, and power to apply to the High Court or a judge thereof to determine any question arising in the carrying out of the order), or those powers subject to such modifications, restrictions or extensions as the Board think necessary, or convenient for the purpose of giving full effect to the order, and the remuneration of and costs, charges, and expenses incurred by the controller, and any remuneration payable and costs, charges, and expenses incurred in connection with the supervision or inspection of the business, whether before or after the passing of this Act, to such amount as may be approved by the Board, shall be defrayed out of the assets of the business, and shall be charged on such assets in priority to any other charges thereon.

In England and Wales an official receiver may, if the Board of Trade think fit, be appointed controller.

(3.) The distribution of any sums or other property resulting from the realisation of any assets of the business, whether those assets are realised as the result of an order requiring the business to be wound up or as the result of an order prohibiting or limiting the carrying on of the business, shall be subject to the same rules as to preferential payments as are applicable to the distribution of the assets of a company which is being wound up, and those assets shall, so far as they are available for discharging unsecured debts, be applied in discharging such debts due to creditors who are not enemies in priority to the unsecured debts due to creditors who are enemies; and any balance, after providing for the discharge of liabilities, shall be distributed amongst the persons interested therein in such manner as the Board of Trade may direct :

Provided that any sums or other property which had a state of war not existed would have been payable or transferable under this section to enemies, whether as creditors or otherwise, shall be paid or transferred to the custodian under "The Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1914,' be dealt with by him in like manner as money paid to him under that Act.

(4.) Where there are assets of the business in enemy territory, the controller shall cause an estimate to be prepared of

* Vol. CVIII, page 57.