outlawry

Outlawry is a historical legal status in which a person who failed to appear before a court or fled justice was declared outside the protection of the law. An outlaw was considered outside the reach of legal protection, and aiding or sheltering an outlaw could incur liability. The process typically began with a writ or formal proclamation demanding appearance; if the person did not surrender, the court could declare him an outlaw, sometimes accompanied by a public proclamation. Once outlawed, the individual had no legal recourse against harm, and others could seize his property or arrest him without the usual procedural protections. In some systems, pursuit by private citizens, under a public duty known as the hue and cry, continued until the outlaw submitted to trial or the case was closed.

Outlawry originated in medieval European law and was especially prominent in English common law, where it functioned as both a punitive measure and a practical means of enforcing compliance with court orders. Over time, the expansion of due process protections and procedural reform reduced the use of formal outlawry. In many jurisdictions, the practice was gradually abolished or fell out of use during the 18th and 19th centuries, as criminal procedure evolved toward more regulated trials and protections for the accused.

Today, outlawry survives mainly as a historical term and in discussions of medieval law or fictional settings. In modern legal systems, enforcement of criminal penalties is carried out through established procedures, and the concept of declaring a person completely outside the protection of the law has no contemporary counterpart.