CAPITULATION (the Pactum deditionis of Grotius) is an agreement in time of war for the surrender to a hostile armed force of a particular body of troops, a town, or a territory. It is an ordinary incident of war, and therefore no previous instructions from the captor’s Government are required before finally settling the conditions of capitulation. The most usual of such conditions are freedom of religion, and security of private property on the one hand, and a promise not to bear arms within a certain period on the other. Such agreements may be rashly concluded with an inferior officer, on whose authority the enemy are not in the actual position of the war entitled to place reliance. The Roman consuls sometimes introduced the condition— “Ita ratum sit, si populus Romanus censuisset. ” Saturninus surrendered the Capitol on the promise of Marius; but Cicero asks (pro C. Rab., c. x.), “Fides qui potuit sine senatusconsulto dari 1” Caesar evidently thought that responsibility in such matters should rest in the commander-in-chief: “Alter agere ad praescriptum,alter libere ad summam rerum consulere debet” (de B. C., iii. 51). In modem times the question has been raised whether a capitulation can ever amount to a conveyance of the sovereignty, or a perpetual cession of political allegiance. Such matters are fixed by the terms of peace; but before then questions may rise as to rights in the property passed by capitulation. Although private ransoms are theoretically allowed by English admiralty law in cases of necessity, the Prize Act (27 and 28 Vict. c. 25, § 45) confers a right only to ships and goods afloat. Hence part of the consideration of a capitulation may be condemned to the Crown. Again, as in the case of Thorshaven and its dependencies (Island of ...