Everything about Rules Of Prize Warfare totally explained
Rules of Prize Warfare defines a set of rules for taking
prizes—
vessels captured during
war—that were originally laid down in the days of
sailing ships. Some of the rules state that:
passenger ships may not be sunk; crews of
merchant ships must be placed in safety before their ships may be sunk (life boats are not considered a place of safety unless close to land); only
warships may be sunk without warning.
All sides signed
treaties (the
Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907) subscribing to Rules of Prize Warfare before
World War I and they were also in effect during
World War II. During 1914-1917, Germany adhered to the prize rules, until it declared unrestricted submarine warfare. During
World War II,
Germany adhered to the prize rules for the first 2 months of 1939, and then
unrestricted submarine warfare was again practised.
In 1912, British Admiral
Sir John "Jackie" Fisher, by then a retired
First Sea Lord, presented a paper to the
Cabinet. He developed the argument that
submarines would find adherence to Prize Rules impossible, for practical reasons: a submarine couldn't capture a merchant ship, for it would have no spare manpower to deliver the prize to a neutral port, neither could it take survivors or prisoners, for lack of space. "
...there is nothing a submarine can do except sink her capture." If a merchant ship were armed, as was permitted by a conference in London in 1912, then a submarine was under more pressure to destroy a ship. He asked: "
What if the Germans were to use submarines against commerce without restriction?"
This last comment was thought to be unsupportable.
Winston Churchill, then
First Lord of the Admiralty and political head of the
Royal Navy, supported by senior naval opinion, said it was inconceivable that "
...this would ever be done by a civilised power." It was Fisher who was proven correct.
The treaties are still in effect today.
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