Also known as: letter of marque and reprisal · letters of marque · letter of marque · privateer commission · marque and reprisal
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A license authorizing a private citizen to engage in reprisals against citizens or vessels of another nation. Congress holds exclusive authority to issue such licenses under its enumerated powers.
Lunar Dynamics petitions Congress after foreign vessels seize its cargo on the high seas. Congress responds by issuing letters of marque and reprisal to the company. Lunar Dynamics then outfits a vessel to recover equivalent property from the responsible foreign parties.
Lola Langley seeks permission from her state legislature to seize assets from a foreign debtor who evaded payment. The legislature refuses because it lacks authority to grant letters of marque and reprisal. Langley must instead petition Congress for the necessary license.
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Lamar Lewis challenges an executive order affecting foreign commerce. The President notes that only Congress may grant letters of marque and reprisal when addressing harms from foreign actors. Lewis's claim fails because the executive lacks independent authority to issue such licenses.
Logan Lane, a private ship owner, receives letters of marque and reprisal during hostilities. He captures enemy vessels on the high seas under the license. The captures are upheld as lawful exercises of congressional authority to grant such letters.
Lorenzo Lugo seizes enemy property located within the United States after war is declared. The court holds that the seizure is invalid because it was not conducted under letters of marque and reprisal. Congress had not authorized private reprisals through any statute.
Linden Logistics challenges a state law altering its contractual obligations with foreign suppliers. The state defends the law as a form of reprisal. The court rejects the defense because states are forbidden from granting letters of marque and reprisal regardless of contract impairment claims.
Congress holds the exclusive power under Article I, Section 8. The Constitution assigns this authority to Congress alone and prohibits states from exercising it under Article I, Section 10.
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No. Article I, Section 10 expressly forbids states from granting letters of marque and reprisal. A private party must seek authorization from Congress instead.
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Congress has not issued any letters of marque and reprisal since the nineteenth century. The authority remains available under Article I, Section 8 but has fallen into disuse.
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The power appears alongside the authority to declare war and make rules concerning captures. It supplies a mechanism for Congress to authorize private military action against foreign actors during or in connection with armed conflict.
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…officers, and in the making of treaties. A third remains to be mentioned; the right of the legislature to declare war and grant letters of marque and reprisal.' "With these exceptions, the executive power of the United States is completely lodged in the President. This mode of construing the Constitution has indeed been recognized by Congress in…