Editing Alsace (section)

=== The term "Alsatia" ===
{{Main|Alsatia}}

"Alsatia", the Latin form of Alsace's name, entered the [[English language]] as "a lawless place" or "a place under no jurisdiction" prior to the 17th century as a reflection of the British perception of the region at that time. It was used into the 20th century as a term for a ramshackle marketplace, "protected by ancient custom and the independence of their patrons". The word is still in use in the 21st century among the English and Australian judiciaries to describe a place where the law cannot reach: "In setting up the [[Serious Organised Crime Agency]], the state has set out to create an Alsatia – a region of executive action free of judicial oversight," [[Lord Justice Sedley]] in UMBS v SOCA 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2586539.ece|title=Law Lords slam crime agency for freezing UMBS payments|newspaper=The Independent|date=27 May 2007|access-date=2010-05-30|location=London|first=Paul|last=Lashmar|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001051829/http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2586539.ece|archive-date=1 October 2007}}</ref>

Derived from the above, "[[Alsatia]]" was historically a [[Cant (language)|cant]] term for the area near [[Whitefriars, London]], which was for a long time a [[sanctuary]]. It is first known in print in the title of ''[[The Squire of Alsatia]]'', a 1688 play written by [[Thomas Shadwell]].