Legal Definition and Related Resources of Sanctuary
Meaning of Sanctuary
A place of refuge, where the process of the law cannot be executed. Sanctuaries may be divided into religious and civil. The former were very common in Europe, religious houses affording protection from arrest to all persons, whether accused of crime or pursued for debt. 4 Bl. Comm. 332. This kind was never known in the United States. Civil sanctuary, or that protection which is afforded to a man by his own house, was always respected in this country. The house protects the owner from the service of all civil process in the first instance, but not if he is once lawfully arrested and takes refuge in his own house. See “House;” “Arrest.” No place affords protection from arrest in criminal cases. A man may therefore, be arrested in his own house in such cages, and the doors may be broken for the purpose of making the arrest. See “Arrest.”
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| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Sanctuary in the Dictionary | Sanctuary in our legal dictionaries | Browse the Legal Thesaurus | Find synonyms and related words of Sanctuary |
| Legal Maxims | Maxims are established principles that jurists use as interpretive tools, invoked more frequently in international law |
| Legal Answers (Q&A) | A community-driven knowledge creation process, of enduring value to a broad audience |
| Related topics | Sanctuary in the World Encyclopedia of Law |
Notice
This definition of Sanctuary is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.
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| https://legaldictionary.lawin.org/sanctuary/ | The URI of Sanctuary (more about URIs) |
Grammar
This term is a noun.
Etimology of Sanctuary
(You may find sanctuary at the world legal encyclopedia and the etimology of more terms).
early 14c., “building set apart for holy worship,” from Anglo-French sentuarie, Old French saintuaire “sacred relic, holy thing; reliquary, sanctuary,” from Late Latin sanctuarium “a sacred place, shrine” (especially the Hebrew Holy of Holies; see sanctum), also “a private room,” from Latin sanctus “holy” (see saint; this term is also a noun.). Since the time of Constantine and by medieval Church law, fugitives or debtors enjoyed immunity from arrest in certain churches, hence transferred sense of “immunity from punishment” (late 14c.). Exceptions were made in England in cases of treason and sacrilege. General (non-ecclesiastical) sense of “place of refuge or protection” is attested from 1560s; as “land set aside for wild plants or animals to breed and live” it is recorded from 1879.
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