[The Naval Prize Act, 1864, s. 17.]

Affidavit as to Ship Papers.

11. Where a ship is seized in any port of Her Majesty's dominions and is proceeded against as a prize, the affidavit as to ship papers may be made by any officer or person present at such seizure.

12. Where ship papers are delivered up or found in ordinary course at the time of capture or seizure, the affidavit as to ship papers shall be in the form marked No. 5 (i.) in the Appendix hereto.

Where any ship papers have, after being delivered up or found, been lost, mislaid, injured or altered, or where any ship papers are found hidden or concealed, the affidavit shall be in one of the forms marked Nos. 5 (ii., iii., and iv.) in the Appendix hereto, with such variations as the facts may require.

Where no ship papers are delivered up or found on board the ship, the affidavit shall be in the form marked No. 5 (v.) in the Appendix hereto.

13. All affidavits as to ship papers shall, except as hereinafter provided, be prepared by the registrar or by one of his actuaries at the port into which the ship is brought or in which she is seized. The person in charge of the ship shall produce to such registrar or actuary all the ship papers (if any) delivered up or found on board the ship, and such affidavits shall, except as herein-after provided, be sworn before the Judge or the registrar, or one of the Commissioners appointed to take the preparatory examination at the said port.

14. The ship papers shall be exhibited to the affidavit and shall be numbered consecutively; and the person before whom the affidavit is sworn shall initial each of the documents.

15. Where no person who was present at the capture can proceed with the ship when brought in for adjudication, the affidavit as to ship papers shall be prepared by and sworn before any British Consul or other person empowered to administer oaths in prize matters in any port or place into which it is convenient to send the prize with any person who was present as aforesaid, or by and before any naval officer duly commissioned to administer oaths in prize matters.

16. The affidavit as to ship papers shali, unless otherwise ordered by the Judge or previously sworn, be sworn within three days after the ship is brought in for adjudication or is seized in port and shall, with the ship papers exhibited thereto, be filed in the registry within three days after the same is sworn as aforesaid, or, if sworn before the ship is brought in for adjudication, within three days after the ship is brought in for adjudication.

17. Where ship papers are in the custody or under the control of any person within the jurisdiction of the Court, the

Judge may, on the application of the captor or of the claimant order the person having such custody or control to bring the papers into Court; and thereupon such person shall bring in all ship papers as exhibits to an affidavit in the form marked No. 5 (vi.) in the Appendix hereto.

Issue and Service of Monition for Condemnation.

18. Every monition in a cause for the condemnation of a ship as prize shall within three days after the application for the issue thereof be issued out of the registry and served by the marshal or his substitute.

A form of præcipe for the monition will be found marked No. 2 in the Appendix hereto.

19. Service of the monition shall be effected by affixing the original monition for a short time upon one of the pillars of the Royal Exchange or such other public building or place in the City of London as the Judge shall direct and on taking off the monition leaving a true copy fixed in its place.

The copy shall be left so fixed for a period of at least 20 days.

The monition and the fact of service thereof shall be advertised by the registrar forthwith in one or more of such newspapers and on one or more occasions as the Judge shall direct.

20. The monition shall be filed by the marshal within 20 days after service as aforesaid, with a certificate of service endorsed thereon; and 20 days after such service, and no sooner, shall be deemed to be returned. The certificate of service shall state the date and mode of service, and shall be signed by the person serving the same, and shall be taken as evidence of such service and of the date and mode thereof.

A form of certificate of service will be found marked No. 4 in the Appendix hereto.

21. Where the monition is issued in respect of a ship purporting to be neutral, notice of the institution of the cause shall be sent by the registrar to the consul of the State to which the ship purports to belong.

Appearance to Monition for Condemnation.

22. Any person claiming an interest in or against the ship [The Naval proceeded against for condemnation may at any time before Prize Act, final adjudication enter an appearance, and shall thereupon 1864, s. 23.]

become a party to the cause.

23. A party appearing in a cause for the condemnation of a ship shall file an appearance at the placedirected by the monition.

[The Naval Prize Act,

24. The appearance shall be signed by the party appearing, and shall state his name and address, and an address to be called an address for service, not more than three miles from the registry, at which it shall be sufficient to leave all documents required to be served on him.

Forms of appearance will be found marked Nos. 6 (i. and ii.) in the Appendix hereto.

Claims on behalf of Owners, &c.

25. A person claiming an interest in a ship proceeded against for condemnation shall after appearance make his claim in one of the forms marked Nos. 7 (i.-vii.) in the Appendix hereto, with such variations as the circumstances require.

Every claim shall be verified by an affidavit which shall be in one of the forms marked Nos. 8 (i.-vii.) in the Appendix hereto, with such variations as the circumstances require.

Claims may be made by masters of ships, or other agents authorised by the persons in whom interest is alleged, except 1864, s. 23.] where such persons are domiciled or ordinarily resident within the jurisdiction, in which case they themselves must claim.

[The Naval Prize Act, 1864, s. 23.]

Claims shall be entered by filing the same in the registry. Claims may be amended by leave of the Judge and not otherwise.

26. A claimant may give security for costs by bail-bond, or in such other manner as the Judge shall direct.

Preparatory Examinations.

27. The standing interrogatories shall be the interrogatories contained in form marked No. 9 in the Appendix hereto, or contained in such other form as may from time to time be directed by Her Majesty in Council, and no other interrogatory or interrogatories shall be used in the preparatory examination except by special order of the Judge on the application of the Crown or captors made on motion in court.

28. The preparatory examination on the standing interrogatories shall commence within one week after the ship is brought in for adjudication, unless the Judge shall otherwise direct.

29. The preparatory examination shall take place at the port into which the ship is brought, unless the Judge shall otherwise direct, and before two of the Commissioners authorised to take such examinations; but the Judge may in any case direct that such examination shall be taken before the Judge.

If the examination is ordered to take place before the Judge, the following rules shall operate as if, wherever the word "Commissioners" is used, the word "Judge" was used.

Such Commissioners shall be appointed by the President, by one or more commissions, as he shall direct. A form of commission will be found marked No. 10 in the Appendix hereto.

30. If the person bringing in or in charge of the ship shall fail to produce the witnesses for preparatory examination within the week aforesaid, the Judge may, upon such failure being brought to his knowledge by the Commissioners appointed to take such examinations, or otherwise, make an order on the person bringing in or in charge of the ship that the witnesses shall be produced for examination within a time named in the order. Failure to comply with such order shall be deemed a contempt of Court, and shall be punishable accordingly.

It shall be the duty of the said Commissioners to see that the proper persons are produced for the preparatory examination and to report any failure to produce them.

31. The preparatory examination shall be continued as far as possible de die in diem.

32. Each witness shall be examined at the preparatory examination separately and privately, and no person shall be present at such examination except the Commissioners, the registrar, or an actuary substituted by him, the interpreter (if any), and the witness.

The examination of each witness shall, so far as possible, be completed before the examination of another is commenced.

33. Each and every question in the standing interrogatories shall be put separately to the witness by the registrar or actuary in the presence of the Commissioners, and his answer thereto shall be reduced into writing by the registrar or actuary.

34. When the examination of a witness is completed, his deposition shall be read over to him by the registrar or actuary so that the witness can understand the same, and he shall sign or make his mark upon each sheet of the deposition upon which his answers are written.

35. When the deposition has been read over and signed (or marked) as aforesaid, and after the Cominissioners have given the witness an opportunity of correcting the same, if required, and have ascertained that he understands the contents thereof and acknowledges them to be true, a certificate in the forin marked No. 11 in the Appendix hereto shall be written by the registrar or actuary at the end of each deposition and shall be signed by the Commissioners, and the registrar or actuary, and the interpreter (if any), as appears in such form. Every correction made by the witness of his deposition as aforesaid shall appear upon the deposition together with the original words, and the Commissioners shall in the return herein-after mentioned report the circumstances under which such correction was made and their own opinion as to the bona fides or otherwise of such correction.

36. When all the witnesses produced for preparatory examination have been examined the registrar or actuary shall prepare a heading to the depositions, and shall put the depositions

[The Naval Prize Act,

1864, s. 32.]

[The Naval Prize Act, 1864, s. 32.]

together under such heading, and shall prepare a return. Such heading and return shall be in the forms marked respectively No. 12 and No. 13 in the Appendix hereto.

The registrar or actuary shall cause the affidavit, with the ship papers annexed, and the depositions in answer to the standing interrogatories, and the return, to be deposited in the registry; but the said documents shall not be deemed to be deposited or returned until all fees due in respect thereof under Appendix B. hereto shall have been paid by the parties instituting the cause, and until such payment no further proceedings shall be taken by the said parties.

37. Where a witness produced for examination refuses to answer, or where, in the opinion of the Commissioners, he is keeping back material facts within his knowledge, the Commissioners shall adjourn the examination of the witness and shall forthwith report the circumstances to the Court. Upon receiving such report the Judge, upon the application of the captors, may, if he sees fit, order the witness to be produced for examination on the interrogatories in Court, or order such witness to duly answer the interrogatories before the Commissioners; and any failure on the part of such witness to make due answers to the interrogatories after such order shall be deemed contempt of Court and shall be punishable accordingly.

Upon receiving such a report as aforesaid the Judge may, if he sees fit, direct the Commissioners to return the depositions of the other witnesses taken in the preparatory examination.

38. In the event of any difficulty arising in the conduct of the preparatory examination, the Commissioners may apply to the Court through the registrar for instructions.

39. Any preparatory examination may, by order of the Judge, be held before the registrar instead of before two Commissioners, and in such case the preceding Rules shall be read as if they contained the word "registrar" instead of Commissioners."

86

Monition to Captors to proceed

40. Where a ship has been taken or seized as prize, and still remains detained, and no cause is instituted against the ship within one month from the time she is so taken or seized, a claimant may, after filing a claim as provided by Rule 25 and giving security as provided by Rule 26, apply for a monition against the captors, citing them to appear and proceed to adjudication.

41. Where a ship has been seized and detained as prize, but has been subsequently released by the captors, or has, by loss or otherwise, ceased to be detained by them without proceedings for condemnation having been taken, and the owner wishes to make a claim for costs and damages in respect of such seizure and detention, or any loss or injury resulting therefrom, he may,