A letter of marque is an official warrant or commission from a government authorizing the designated agent to search, seize, or destroy specified assets or personnel belonging to a foreign party which has committed some offense under the laws of nations against the assets or citizens of the issuing nation, and has usually been used to authorize private parties to raid and capture merchant shipping of an enemy nation. Most often the term warrant refers to a specific type of Authorization; a Writ issued by a competent officer usually a Judge or Magistrate Letters patent are a type of Legal instrument in the form of an Open letter issued by a Monarch or Government, granting an office right For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of States and Intergovernmental organizations.
The formal statement of the warrant is to authorize the agent to pass beyond the borders of the nation ("marque" or frontier), and there to search, seize, or destroy an enemy's vessel or fleet not necessarily a nation. It is considered a retaliatory measure short of a full declaration of war, and, by maintaining a rough proportionality, has been intended to justify the action to other nations, who might otherwise consider it an act of war or piracy. A declaration of war is a formal performative Speech act or signing of a document by an authorised party of a government in order to initate a state of War Casus belli is a Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering As with a domestic search, arrest, seizure, or death warrant, to be considered lawful it needs to have a certain degree of specificity to ensure that the agent does not exceed one's authority and the intent of the issuing authority.
In the past, a ship operating under a letter of marque and reprisal was privately owned and was called a "private man-of-war" or "privateer. A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size A man-of-war (also man of war, man-o'-war or simply man) is an armed naval vessel A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping " The French sometimes used the term lettre de course for its letters of marque, giving rise to the term corsair. Corsairs were French Privateers from the north-western French port of St-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany.
Letters of Marque were abolished by the 1856 Declaration of Paris, which was an annex to the 1856 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Crimean War. Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law of 16 April 1856 was issued to abolish Privateering It regulated the relationship between neutral and belligerent Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Treaty of Paris of 1856 settled the Crimean War between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, France The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War (Восточная война Vostochnaya Vojna) (March 1854–February 1856 was fought
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United Kingdom and France
Letters of marque were issued by England, after 1707 Great Britain, and after 1801 the United Kingdom until the signing of the Declaration of Paris in 1856. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law of 16 April 1856 was issued to abolish Privateering It regulated the relationship between neutral and belligerent Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Famous recipients include Sir Francis Drake, Sir Henry Morgan, and William Kidd. Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c 1540 &ndash 27 January 1595 was an English Privateer, navigator, Slaver, and politician Admiral Sir Henry Morgan (Hari Morgan in Welsh) ( ca 1635 &ndash August 25, 1688) was a Welsh Privateer, who made a name William " Captain " Kidd ( c 1645 &ndash May 23, 1701) was a Scottish sailor remembered for his To further illustrate the subtle difference between piracy and privateering, both Henry Morgan and William Kidd were later brought up on charges of piracy by England.
Letters of Marque were given by France in a very selective manner. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Under Napoleon, they covered a six-month period in case a war should come to an end. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. This meant that captains left port with several Letters of Marque, since expeditions rarely lasted less than a year. Once he returned to harbour, the captain had to hand the letter over to the naval authorities, who destroyed it, creating a greater sense of accountability and rarity.
United States
Article 1 of the United States Constitution lists issuing letters of marque and reprisal in Section 8 as one of the enumerated powers of Congress, alongside the power to declare war. Article One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of the legislative branch of the United States government, known as Congress The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. The enumerated powers are a list of specific responsibilities found in Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution, which enumerate the authority granted The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses One question is whether the marque and reprisal clause requires the President to obtain such a letter from Congress as an authorization for limited offensive warlike operations outside the territory of the United States. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The origins of this clause and the framers' intent fit well with modern notions of irregular warfare, supporting the view that the President's use of troops in foreign military operations, including covert paramilitary actions, is illegal absent Congress' authorization. [1]
Some scholars, however, view this clause as contemplating action only by private contractors, and not as a limit on presidential power. For example, in 2002, Douglas Kmiec, then dean of the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that:
| “ | Letters of Marque and Reprisal are grants of authority from Congress to private citizens, not the President. Douglas W Kmiec (born September 24 1951) is an American legal scholar In Academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit or over a specific area of concern or both The Columbus School of Law is the law school of The Catholic University of America in Washington D The Catholic University of America ( CUA) located in Northeast Washington D The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (informally Senate Judiciary Committee) is a Standing committee of the United States Senate, the Their purpose is to expressly authorize seizure and forfeiture of goods by such citizens in the context of undeclared hostilities. Without such authorization, the citizen could be treated under international law as a pirate. Occasions where one's citizens undertake hostile activity can often entangle the larger sovereignty, and therefore, it was sensible for Congress to desire to have a regulatory check upon it. Authorizing Congress to moderate or oversee private action, however, says absolutely nothing about the President's responsibilities under the Constitution. [2] | ” |
Because the difference between a privateer and a pirate was a subtle (often invisible) one, in 1856 the issuance of Letters of Marque and Reprisal to private parties was banned for signatories of the Declaration of Paris. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering The Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law of 16 April 1856 was issued to abolish Privateering It regulated the relationship between neutral and belligerent The United States was not a signatory to that Declaration and is not bound by it. During the 1861-65 American Civil War and the 1898 Spanish-American War, however, the United States issued statements that it would abide by the principles of the Declaration of Paris for the duration of the hostilities. Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Confederate States of America issued Letters of Marque and Reprisal during the Civil War. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 The only vessel to operate under a Letter of Marque issued by the United States Congress since the War of 1812, was the airship Resolute, operated by civilians to patrol the seas for submarines during the Second World War. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies Terminology In some countries airships are also known as dirigibles from the French (fr ''diriger'' to direct plus -ible) meaning "directable" A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
The issue of Marque and Reprisal was raised before Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks[3], and again on July 21, 2007 by congressman Ron Paul. The attacks were defined as acts of "air piracy," and the Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001 was introduced, which would have granted the president the authority to use Letters of Marque and Reprisal against the specific terrorists, instead of warring against a foreign state. The terrorists were compared to pirates in that they are difficult to fight by traditional military means. [4]
See also
References
- ^ Jules Lobel, “‘Little Wars’ and the Constitution,” in “War and Responsibility: A Symposium on Congress, The President, and the Authority to Initiate Hostilities,” 50 U. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping Not to be confused with a Reprise. In warfare a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of the laws of war to punish an enemy for breaking Commerce raiding is to destroy the logistics (supplies of an enemy on the open sea rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a Blockade against them Alexander Godfrey was an 18th century British Privateer. Godfrey was born in Chatham Massachusetts in c Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c 1540 &ndash 27 January 1595 was an English Privateer, navigator, Slaver, and politician of Miami Law Rev. 61, 66 (October 1995).
- ^ http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=225&wit_id=438
- ^ TST: Statement on the Congressional Authorization of the Use of Force
- ^ Paul offers President New Tool in the War on Terrorism on the homepage of United States House of Representatives, accessed at April 29, 2007
Dictionary
letter of marque
-noun
- an official commission from a government authorizing someone to seize the property or people of another nation; especially to attack merchant shipping of another nation
- (nautical) a ship that has been armed for such a task
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