Criminal Law Sanctuaries

Abstract

The paper explores the existence of various social institutions that have resisted the reach of criminal law enforcement authority over time. Focusing on the response of the Catholic Church to widespread clergy sexual abuse, which in many respects reflects the practice of sanctuary in the European middle ages, as well as the historic resistance of families and corporations to criminal law authority, the paper discusses the reasons underlying the phenomenon of sanctuaries, and offers insights into how criminal wrongdoing might best be addressed therein.