Contraband

Contraband

Summary of Contraband

Goods that are deemed unsuitable for entry into a country and that are subject to interdiction by customs authorities. Persons attempting to enter contraband through customs may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, in addition to forfeiture of the merchandise.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Contraband

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on contraband explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Contraband

Resources

See Also

  • Bootlegging
  • Counterfeit
  • Derivative contraband
  • Gray market goods
  • Smuggling

Resources

Further Reading

  • The entry “contraband” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

See Also

P. C. Jessup, The Early Development of the Law of Contraband of War (1933).

Further Reading (Articles)

CONTRABAND TOBACCO A GROWING PROBLEM IN CANADA; NEW FRASER INSTITUTE STUDY PROVIDES GOVERNMENT WITH SIX OPTIONS FOR COMBATTING ILLICIT TOBACCO TRADE.(Report), States News Service; December 1, 2011

Today’s Forecast: Contraband, American Jails; March 1, 2012; Bouchard, Joe

Contraband Tobacco Use Hinders Smoking Cessation, NewsRx Health; March 24, 2013

Contraband Fuels Economy, Frustrates Authorities, The Washington Times (Washington, DC); January 12, 1998; Otis, John

Orwellian Ramifications: The Contraband Exception to the Fourth Amendment, The University of Memphis Law Review; January 1, 2010; MacDonnell, Timothy C

Controlling Contraband, Corrections Today; October 1, 2006; Gearhart, Gregory

Nationwide crackdown on sale of contraband cigarettes, New Straits Times; June 16, 2006

Twenty-Nine Golden Grove Inmates Indicted for Possessing Illegal Contraband, States News Service; April 30, 2014

FOUR YEARS LATER, CONTRABAND TOBACCO STILL A PROBLEM., States News Service; May 9, 2012

Information as Contraband: The First Amendment and Liability for Trafficking in Speech, Northwestern University Law Review; April 1, 2002; Smolla, Rodney A.

Crackdown on Contraband along Guatemala’s Northern Border, NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs; October 3, 2013; Reynolds, Louisa

history of contraband slaves honored at annual event.(Local), The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA); August 13, 2007

Contraband cigarettes becoming a national norm, CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal; May 22, 2007; McLaughlin, Paul

Four Years Later, Contraband Tobacco Still a Problem., Politics & Government Week; May 24, 2012

Western Convenience Stores Worried about Increase in Contraband Tobacco Following Manitoba Budget, Manufacturing Close-Up; April 30, 2013

Contraband gets time to be contrary, Chicago Sun-Times; August 18, 1991; Cristi Kempf

Contraband: Powell, Pressburger, Veidt, Hobson, Junge and Others, CineAction; December 22, 2010; Williams, Tony

Ontario Convenience Stores Unveils In-Store Contraband Awareness Campaign, Entertainment Close-up; April 24, 2013

Foreign Journal; Contraband on the Run, The Washington Post; May 24, 1993; Don Podesta

Corrections Officers, Lawyer among 9 Charged in Schemes to Smuggle Contraband into Federal Pretrial Detention Facility, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; May 29, 2014

Introduction to Contraband

Contraband, in international law, goods carried by vessels of neutral nations during wartime that may be confiscated by a belligerent 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 converted into instrumentalities of war. Conditional contraband, formerly known as occasional contraband, consists of such materials as provisions and livestock feed. Cargoes of this kind, while presumably innocent in character, are subject to seizure if, in the judgment 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, rawhides, paper, clocks, agricultural machinery, and jewelry, have been classified as noncontraband, although these distinctions have proved meaningless in practice.

Under conditions of modern warfare, in which armed conflict has become largely a struggle involving the total populations of the contending powers, virtually all commodities are classified by the belligerents as absolute contraband.

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, 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, nearly all cargoes in transit to an enemy nation were 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.

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 cargoes. By the Declaration 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 in World War II.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Guide to Contraband

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