Legal Definitions - infection, doctrine of

Definition: The infection, doctrine of is a principle in international law that allows for the seizure or treatment of any goods belonging to the owner of contraband and carried on the same ship as the contraband itself.

Example: If a ship is found to be carrying illegal drugs, any other goods on the ship belonging to the same owner may also be seized or treated as contraband. For instance, if the owner of the drugs also had a shipment of electronics on the same ship, those electronics could also be seized or treated as contraband.

This principle is based on the idea that the owner of the contraband is responsible for the entire shipment and that any goods on the same ship are likely to be connected to the illegal activity.