Why Vatican City Has No Prison
Vatican City is a sovereign state with its own courts and law-enforcement body, but it has no prison for serving long-term sentences. Building and staffing one for a population and territory this small would be a substantial commitment for a rare need. Instead, Vatican City relies on an arrangement with neighboring Italy for imprisonment.
That does not mean a person accused of a crime is automatically outside Vatican law. Vatican courts can hear criminal cases, and the Vatican Gendarmerie—the city-state’s police force—can detain people. Small holding cells can be used for short-term custody, but they are not a prison system for lengthy sentences.
How the Italian arrangement works
The 1929 Lateran Treaty, which established the relationship between Italy and the Holy See and recognized Vatican City as an independent state, provides a way to handle certain criminal cases across the border. Under its terms, the Holy See can ask Italy to take custody of an accused person and deal with the case under Italian law. The arrangement also allows Italy to carry out custodial sentences when requested by the Holy See.
In practice, that separates the authority to apply Vatican law from the facilities needed to hold prisoners. A case may involve Vatican investigators and courts, while a person who must be imprisoned is held in an Italian facility. The details depend on the case and the relevant legal procedures; it is not simply a matter of guards tossing someone across the street.
A border with practical consequences
The arrangement reflects the unusual scale of Vatican City: it is an independent state, but it is surrounded by a country with a full prison system. Cooperation lets the Vatican maintain its own legal institutions without building a costly facility for a handful of detainees. Its sovereignty does not require it to duplicate every public service within its tiny borders.
