Us Code § 383 - Resistance of pirates by merchant vessels
Full text of Us Code United States Code § 383 — Resistance of pirates by merchant vessels, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 383. Resistance of pirates by merchant vessels
The commander and crew of any merchant vessel of the United States, owned wholly, or in part, by a citizen thereof, may oppose and defend against any aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure, which shall be attempted upon such vessel, or upon any other vessel so owned, by the commander or crew of any armed vessel whatsoever, not being a public armed vessel of some nation in amity with the United States, and may subdue and capture the same; and may also retake any vessel so owned which may have been captured by the commander or crew of any such armed vessel, and send the same into any port of the United States.
(R.S. §4295.)
Editorial Notes
Codification
R.S. §4295 derived from acts Mar. 3, 1819, ch. 77, §3, 3 Stat. 513; Jan. 30, 1823, ch. 7, 3 Stat. 721.
About This Section
33 U.S.C. § 383 is part of Title 33 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.
This section may be cited in legal writing as 33 U.S.C. § 383. For the most current official text, including any recent amendments, use the official source links below. Do not rely on this page as the sole authority for legal citation or litigation.
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