reprisal

reprisal in international law, the forcible taking, in time of peace, by one country of the property or territory belonging to another country or to the citizens of the other country, to be held as a pledge or as redress in order to satisfy a claim. A reprisal, technically, is not an act of war, because it is solely in response to conduct that violated international law. When, however, reprisals are taken against a power of equal strength, they may provoke war. The Covenant of the League of Nations and the Charter of the United Nations classify reprisals as acts endangering peace. Modern international law no longer recognizes private reprisal. This was the right of a private person to satisfy a legal claim against an alien by seizing property belonging to a person of the alien's nationality. The authority was contained in a letter of reprisal issued by the sovereign. Private reprisals all but disappeared by 1800, as the central authority of states grew stronger.

reprise (Fr.). Repeat. In comp., a return to the first section after an intervening and contrasting section. In the works of Rameau, Couperin, etc., the term means a short refrain at the end of a movt. and intended to be repeated.

reprisal, originally a period of belligerency which preceded a declaration of war. Where a grievance existed against another country for acts committed, which might not rate a full declaration of war, the aggrieved nation could declare a state of reprisal, and undertake operations short of war until its grievances were settled. It was usually the signal to issue letters of marque. Needless to say, a declaration of reprisal almost invariably drifted into full-scale war.