The Albama case 1872

The Alabama Claims were a series of demands for damages sought by

the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the
attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in
British shipyards during the American Civil War. The claims focused chiefly on
the most famous of these raiders, the CSS Alabama, which took more than sixty
prizes before she was sunk off the French coast in 1864.
After international arbitration endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain
settled the matter by paying the United States $15.5 million, ending the dispute and
leading to a treaty that restored friendly relations between Britain and the United
States. That international arbitration established a precedent, and the case aroused
interest in codifying public international law.
The claims
In what was called the Alabama Claims, in 1869 the United States claimed direct
and collateral damage against Great Britain. In the particular case of the Alabama,
the United States claimed that Britain had violated neutrality by allowing five
warships to be constructed, especially the Alabama, knowing that it would
eventually enter into naval service with the Confederacy.
Legacy
This established the principle of international arbitration, and launched a
movement to codify public international law with hopes for finding peaceful
solutions to international disputes. The arbitration of the Alabama claims was a
precursor to the Hague Convention, the League of Nations, the World Court, and
the United Nations. The Alabama Claims inspired international jurist Gustave
Moynier to pursue legal arrangements to enforce international treaties in the 1870s.
The Soviet Union carefully studied the Alabama claims when assessing whether it
could claim damages in response to Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.