that the appeal in prize cases should lie, not to a Court belonging to the belligerent from whose Court of first instance the appeal is brought, but to an international tribunal, has a plausible appearance of fairness, but involves many preliminary questions which must not be lost sight of.
Prize Courts are, at present, Courts of enquiry, to which a belligerent Government entrusts the duty of ascertaining whether the captures made by its officers have been properly made, according to the views of international law entertained by that Government.

There exists, no doubt, among Continental jurists, a considerable body of opinion in favour of giving to Courts of Appeal, at any rate, in prize cases a wholly different character.

This opinion found its expression in Arts.
100-109 of the _Code des Prises maritimes_, finally adopted at its Heidelberg meeting, in 1887, by the Institut de Droit International.
Art.

100 runs as follows:-- "Au debut de chaque guerre, chacune des parties belligerantes constitue un tribunal international d'appel en matiere de prises maritimes.

Chacun de ces tribunaux est compose de cinq membres, designes comme suit: L'etat belligerant nommera lui-meme le president et un des membres.