Asylum

Asylum in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of asylum.

Grammar

This term is a noun.

Etimology of Asylum

(You may find asylum at the world legal encyclopedia and the etimology of more terms).

early 15c., earlier asile (late 14c.), “place of refuge, sanctuary,” from Latin asylum “sanctuary,” from Greek asylon “refuge, fenced territory,” noun use of neuter of asylos “inviolable, safe from violence,” especially of persons seeking protection, from a- “without” (see a- (3)) + syle “right of seizure,” which is of unknown etymology. Literally, “an inviolable place.” Formerly a place where criminals and debtors sought shelter from justice and from which they could not be taken without sacrilege. General sense of “safe or secure place” is from 1640s; abstract sense “inviolable shelter, protection from pursuit or arrest” is from 1712. Meaning “benevolent institution to shelter some class of persons suffering social, mental, or bodily defects” is from 1773, originally of female orphans.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police Officer
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• asylum in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• asylum in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

English Legal System: Asylum

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Asylum :

Refuge granted to an individual whose *extradition is sought by a foreign government. This can include refuge in the territory of a foreign country (territorial asylum) or in a foreign embassy (diplomatic asylum). The latter is particularly contentious as it is a derogation from the sovereignty of the territorial state; moreover, diplomatic asylum may only be granted in cases of an alleged political offence and not in cases involving common-law crimes. Diplomatic asylum is well recognized in Latin American states. Conventions relating to it include the Havana Convention of 1928, the Montevideo Convention of 1933, and the CarACAS Convention of 1954. The UK Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 made it a criminal offence for employers to employ anyone subject to immigration control.

See immigration; political asylum.

Asylum and Schengen Agreement and the European Union

Resources

See Also

• Immigration