The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed, sold. 1 : illegal or prohibited traffic in goods : smuggling 2 : goods or merchandise whose importation, exportation, or possession is forbidden; also : smuggled goods 3 : a slave who during the American Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast escaped to or was brought within the Union lines (the above three bullets are from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary)
Used for goods that by their nature, e.g. too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the legislator (those are termed contraband in se) are forbidden, and for so-called derivative contrabande, i.e. goods that may normally be owned but are liable to be seized because they were used in committing an unlawful act and hence begot illegally, such as:
- Smuggling Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations goods
- stolen goods - knowingly participating in their trade is an offense in itself, called fencing In law enforcement, a fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale in a legitimate market. As a verb, the word describes the behavior of the thief in the transaction: The burglar fenced the radio. This sense of the term came from thieves' slang, first attested c. 1700, from notion of such transactions taking place
- the fruits of fraud The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain, forgery Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become etc.
- The word is also used as an adjective, again meaning 'distributed or sold illicitly'.
International law of war
In international law International law is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. However, the term "international law" can refer to three distinct legal, contraband is any goods carried by vessels of neutral nations during wartime that may be confiscated by a belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country or other entity which acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. Belligerent comes from Latin, literally meaning "to wage war". Unlike the colloquial use of belligerent to mean aggressive, its formal use does not necessarily imply that the belligerent country is an aggressor. Also, power and thus prohibited from delivery to the enemy. Traditionally, contraband is classified into two categories, absolute contraband and conditional contraband. The former category includes arms, munitions, and various materials, such as chemicals and certain types of machinery that may be used directly to wage war or be converted into instruments of war.
Conditional contraband, formerly known as occasional contraband, consists of such materials as provisions and livestock feed. Cargo of this kind, while presumably innocent in character, is subject to seizure if, in the opinion of the belligerent nation that seizes them, the supplies are destined for the armed forces of the enemy rather than for civilian use and consumption. In former agreements among nations, certain other commodities, including soap, paper, clocks, agricultural machinery and jewelry, have been classified as non-contraband, although these distinctions have proved meaningless in practice.
Under conditions of modern warfare, in which armed conflict has largely become a struggle involving the total populations of the contending powers, virtually all commodities are classified by belligerents as absolute contraband.
During the American Civil War, Confederate-owned slaves who sought refuge in Union military camps or who lived in territories that fell under Union control were declared "contraband of war." This policy was first articulated by General Benjamin Butler in 1861 in what came to be known as the "Fort Monroe Doctrine."[1]
Numerous treaties defining contraband have been concluded among nations. In time of war, the nations involved have invariably violated these agreements, formulating their own definitions as the fortunes of war indicated. The Declaration of London The London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War is an international code of maritime law, especially as it relates to wartime activities, proposed in 1909 at the London Naval Conference by the leading European naval powers, as well as the United States and Japan, after a multinational conference that occurred in 1908 in London. Although it, drafted at the London Naval Conference of 1908-1909, and made partly effective by most of the European maritime nations at the outbreak of World War I, established comprehensive classifications of absolute and conditional contraband. As the war developed, the lists of articles in each category were constantly revised by the various belligerents, despite protests by neutral powers engaged in the carrying trade. By 1916 the list of conditional contraband included practically all waterborne cargo. Thereafter, for the duration of World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were, nearly all cargo in transit to an enemy nation was treated as contraband of war by the intercepting belligerent, regardless of the nature of the cargo. A similar policy was inaugurated by the belligerent powers early in World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·.
Under international law, the citizens of neutral nations are entitled to trade, at their own risk, with any or all powers engaged in war. No duty to restrain contraband trade is imposed on the neutral governments, but neither have neutral governments the right to interfere on behalf of citizens whose property is seized by one belligerent while in transit to another. The penalty traditionally imposed by belligerents on neutral carriers engaged in commercial traffic with the enemy consists of confiscation of cargo. By the people of London, this was extended to include condemnation of the carrying vessel provided that more than half the cargo was contraband. The right of warring nations to sink neutral ships transporting contraband is not recognized in international law, but this practice was initiated by Germany in World War I and was often resorted to by the Axis Powers The Axis powers (German: Achsenmächte, Italian: Potenze dell'Asse, Japanese: Suujikukoku , Hungarian: Tengelyhatalmak, Romanian: Puterile Axei, Bulgarian: "Сили от Оста"), also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II in World War II.
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References
- ^ For further information on the use of the term "contraband" in the Civil War, see Northern Visions of Race and Reform.
Categories: Criminal law Categories: Public law | Common law | Law by issue | Criminal justice | Smuggling
Albany Times Union
Associated Press MARCY -- State Police have charged a prison secretary with promoting prison contraband after she gave a personal item to an inmate with ...
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Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GM
McNeese says goodbye to two French professors, Professors returning to France.
