diff --git a/benchmarks/dbscan/ArborX_DBSCANVerification.hpp b/benchmarks/dbscan/ArborX_DBSCANVerification.hpp
index 78fa1eff9..f3a624148 100644
--- a/benchmarks/dbscan/ArborX_DBSCANVerification.hpp
+++ b/benchmarks/dbscan/ArborX_DBSCANVerification.hpp
@@ -290,8 +290,8 @@ bool verifyDBSCAN(ExecutionSpace exec_space, Primitives const &primitives,
   static_assert(std::is_same<typename LabelsView::value_type, int>{});
   static_assert(std::is_same<typename LabelsView::memory_space, MemorySpace>{});
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(eps > 0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(core_min_size >= 2);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(eps > 0);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(core_min_size >= 2);
 
   Points points{primitives}; // NOLINT
 
diff --git a/benchmarks/dbscan/data.hpp b/benchmarks/dbscan/data.hpp
index 0e30c8808..f10c35c03 100644
--- a/benchmarks/dbscan/data.hpp
+++ b/benchmarks/dbscan/data.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #define DATA_HPP
 
 #include <ArborX_Point.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <iostream>
 #include <random>
@@ -65,7 +64,8 @@ std::vector<Point<DIM>> loadData(std::string const &filename,
     input.open(filename);
   else
     input.open(filename, std::ifstream::binary);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(input.good());
+  if (!input.good())
+    Kokkos::abort("Could not load data");
 
   std::vector<Point<DIM>> v;
 
@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ std::vector<Point<DIM>> loadData(std::string const &filename,
     input.read(reinterpret_cast<char *>(&dim), sizeof(int));
   }
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(dim == DIM);
+  if (dim != DIM)
+    Kokkos::abort("Mismatching dimensions");
 
   if (max_num_points > 0 && max_num_points < num_points)
     num_points = max_num_points;
diff --git a/benchmarks/dbscan/dbscan_timpl.hpp b/benchmarks/dbscan/dbscan_timpl.hpp
index 6acd3f20d..8348baf4c 100644
--- a/benchmarks/dbscan/dbscan_timpl.hpp
+++ b/benchmarks/dbscan/dbscan_timpl.hpp
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ void writeLabelsData(std::string const &filename,
                      Kokkos::View<int *, MemorySpace> labels)
 {
   std::ofstream out(filename, std::ofstream::binary);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(out.good());
+  if (!out.good())
+    Kokkos::abort("Could not open file");
 
   auto labels_host =
       Kokkos::create_mirror_view_and_copy(Kokkos::HostSpace{}, labels);
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ void sortAndFilterClusters(ExecutionSpace const &exec_space,
   static_assert(
       std::is_same<typename ClusterOffsetView::memory_space, MemorySpace>{});
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(cluster_min_size >= 1);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(cluster_min_size >= 1);
 
   int const n = labels.extent_int(0);
 
diff --git a/examples/viz/tree_visualization.cpp b/examples/viz/tree_visualization.cpp
index c66a401c4..691fa9113 100644
--- a/examples/viz/tree_visualization.cpp
+++ b/examples/viz/tree_visualization.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ void loadPointCloud(std::string const &filename, Points &random_points)
   {
     int size = -1;
     file >> size;
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(size > 0);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(size > 0);
     Kokkos::realloc(random_points, size);
     auto random_points_host = Kokkos::create_mirror_view(random_points);
     for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i)
diff --git a/src/ArborX.hpp b/src/ArborX.hpp
index 28335e2a7..cfc6fee25 100644
--- a/src/ArborX.hpp
+++ b/src/ArborX.hpp
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
 #include <ArborX_Sphere.hpp>
 #include <detail/ArborX_PredicateHelpers.hpp>
 #include <detail/ArborX_Predicates.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 // FIXME: we include ArborX_Utils.hpp only for backward compatibility for
 // users using deprecated functions in ArborX namespace (min, max,
 // adjacentDifference, ...). This header should be removed when we remove those
diff --git a/src/cluster/ArborX_DBSCAN.hpp b/src/cluster/ArborX_DBSCAN.hpp
index 94dc2e6d9..e88d424d3 100644
--- a/src/cluster/ArborX_DBSCAN.hpp
+++ b/src/cluster/ArborX_DBSCAN.hpp
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 #include <misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp> // sortObjects
 
+#include <Kokkos_Assert.hpp>
+
 namespace ArborX
 {
 
@@ -217,8 +219,17 @@ dbscan(ExecutionSpace const &exec_space, Primitives const &primitives,
       KokkosExt::is_accessible_from<MemorySpace, ExecutionSpace>::value,
       "Primitives must be accessible from the execution space");
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(eps > 0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(core_min_size >= 2);
+  if (eps <= 0)
+    Kokkos::abort((std::string("ArborX: DBSCAN parameter eps must be positive "
+                               "(provided value is ") +
+                   std::to_string(eps) + ")")
+                      .c_str());
+
+  if (core_min_size < 2)
+    Kokkos::abort((std::string("ArborX: DBSCAN parameter core_min_size must be "
+                               "greater than 1 (provided value is ") +
+                   std::to_string(core_min_size) + ")")
+                      .c_str());
 
 #ifdef KOKKOS_ENABLE_SERIAL
   using UnionFind = Details::UnionFind<
diff --git a/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_BoruvkaHelpers.hpp b/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_BoruvkaHelpers.hpp
index ff31da940..d5c6224b6 100644
--- a/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_BoruvkaHelpers.hpp
+++ b/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_BoruvkaHelpers.hpp
@@ -134,9 +134,9 @@ struct FindComponentNearestNeighbors
       , _lower_bounds(lower_bounds)
   {
     int const n = bvh.size();
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(labels.extent_int(0) == 2 * n - 1);
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(edges.extent_int(0) == n);
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(radii.extent_int(0) == n);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(labels.extent_int(0) == 2 * n - 1);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(edges.extent_int(0) == n);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(radii.extent_int(0) == n);
 
 #ifdef KOKKOS_ENABLE_SERIAL
     if (std::is_same<ExecutionSpace, Kokkos::Serial>{})
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@ void finalizeEdges(ExecutionSpace const &space, BVH const &bvh,
                    Edges const &edges)
 {
   int const n = bvh.size();
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(edges.extent_int(0) == n - 1);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(edges.extent_int(0) == n - 1);
   Kokkos::parallel_for(
       "ArborX::MST::finalize_edges", Kokkos::RangePolicy(space, 0, n - 1),
       KOKKOS_LAMBDA(int i) {
diff --git a/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_CartesianGrid.hpp b/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_CartesianGrid.hpp
index 01b623acc..3243d4310 100644
--- a/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_CartesianGrid.hpp
+++ b/src/cluster/detail/ArborX_CartesianGrid.hpp
@@ -14,12 +14,13 @@
 
 #include <ArborX_Box.hpp>
 #include <ArborX_GeometryTraits.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Assert.hpp> // KOKKOS_ASSERT
 #include <Kokkos_Macros.hpp>
 #include <Kokkos_MathematicalFunctions.hpp> // floor
 
+#include <string>
+
 namespace ArborX::Details
 {
 
@@ -32,7 +33,8 @@ struct CartesianGrid
   CartesianGrid(Box<DIM> const &bounds, float h)
       : _bounds(bounds)
   {
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(h > 0);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(h > 0);
+
     for (int d = 0; d < DIM; ++d)
       _h[d] = h;
     buildGrid();
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ struct CartesianGrid
   {
     for (int d = 0; d < DIM; ++d)
     {
-      ARBORX_ASSERT(_h[d] > 0);
+      KOKKOS_ASSERT(_h[d] > 0);
       _h[d] = h[d];
     }
     buildGrid();
@@ -101,7 +103,7 @@ struct CartesianGrid
       if (delta != 0)
       {
         _n[d] = std::ceil(delta / _h[d]);
-        ARBORX_ASSERT(_n[d] > 0);
+        KOKKOS_ASSERT(_n[d] > 0);
       }
       else
       {
@@ -117,7 +119,8 @@ struct CartesianGrid
     for (int d = 1; d < DIM; ++d)
     {
       m /= _n[d - 1];
-      ARBORX_ASSERT(_n[d] < m);
+      if (_n[d] >= m)
+        Kokkos::abort("ArborX: potential overflow detected in CartesianGrid");
     }
 
     // Catch a potential loss of precision that may happen in cellBox() and can
@@ -131,7 +134,7 @@ struct CartesianGrid
     for (int d = 0; d < DIM; ++d)
     {
       if (std::abs(_h[d] / min_corner[d]) < eps)
-        throw std::runtime_error(
+        Kokkos::abort(
             "ArborX exception: FDBSCAN-DenseBox algorithm will experience loss "
             "of precision, undetectably producing wrong results. Please switch "
             "to using FDBSCAN.");
diff --git a/src/distributed/detail/ArborX_Distributor.hpp b/src/distributed/detail/ArborX_Distributor.hpp
index ce05fd4c4..fcff27dcb 100644
--- a/src/distributed/detail/ArborX_Distributor.hpp
+++ b/src/distributed/detail/ArborX_Distributor.hpp
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtAccessibilityTraits.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtMinMaxReduce.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
@@ -44,10 +43,10 @@ determineBufferLayout(ExecutionSpace const &space, InputView batched_ranks,
   Kokkos::Profiling::ScopedRegion guard(
       "ArborX::Distributor::determineBufferLayout");
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(unique_ranks.empty());
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(offsets.empty());
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(permutation_indices.extent_int(0) == 0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(batched_ranks.size() + 1 == batched_offsets.size());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(unique_ranks.empty());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(offsets.empty());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(permutation_indices.extent_int(0) == 0);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(batched_ranks.size() + 1 == batched_offsets.size());
   static_assert(std::is_same_v<typename InputView::non_const_value_type, int>);
   static_assert(std::is_same_v<typename OutputView::value_type, int>);
 
@@ -140,9 +139,9 @@ static void sortAndDetermineBufferLayout(ExecutionSpace const &space,
   Kokkos::Profiling::ScopedRegion guard(
       "ArborX::Distributor::sortAndDetermineBufferLayout");
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(unique_ranks.empty());
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(offsets.empty());
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(permutation_indices.extent_int(0) == ranks.extent_int(0));
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(unique_ranks.empty());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(offsets.empty());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(permutation_indices.extent_int(0) == ranks.extent_int(0));
   static_assert(std::is_same_v<typename InputView::non_const_value_type, int>);
   static_assert(std::is_same_v<typename OutputView::value_type, int>);
 
@@ -195,7 +194,7 @@ static void sortAndDetermineBufferLayout(ExecutionSpace const &space,
     offsets.push_back(offset);
   }
   Kokkos::deep_copy(space, permutation_indices, device_permutation_indices);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(offsets.back() == static_cast<int>(ranks.size()));
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(offsets.back() == static_cast<int>(ranks.size()));
 }
 
 template <typename DeviceType>
@@ -307,9 +306,9 @@ class Distributor
 
     bool const permutation_necessary = _permute.size() != 0;
 
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(!permutation_necessary || exports.size() == _permute.size());
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(exports.size() == getTotalSendLength());
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(imports.size() == getTotalReceiveLength());
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(!permutation_necessary || exports.size() == _permute.size());
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(exports.size() == getTotalSendLength());
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(imports.size() == getTotalReceiveLength());
 
     // Make sure things work even if ExportView is unmanaged
     using ExportViewWithoutMemoryTraits =
@@ -343,7 +342,7 @@ class Distributor
         same_rank_destination = it - _destinations.begin();
 
         it = std::find(_sources.begin(), _sources.end(), comm_rank);
-        ARBORX_ASSERT(it != _sources.end());
+        KOKKOS_ASSERT(it != _sources.end());
         same_rank_source = it - _sources.begin();
       }
     }
@@ -410,7 +409,7 @@ class Distributor
 
     if (same_rank_destination != -1)
     {
-      ARBORX_ASSERT((_src_offsets[same_rank_source + 1] -
+      KOKKOS_ASSERT((_src_offsets[same_rank_source + 1] -
                      _src_offsets[same_rank_source]) ==
                     (_dest_offsets[same_rank_destination + 1] -
                      _dest_offsets[same_rank_destination]));
diff --git a/src/interpolation/detail/ArborX_InterpDetailsSymmetricPseudoInverseSVD.hpp b/src/interpolation/detail/ArborX_InterpDetailsSymmetricPseudoInverseSVD.hpp
index e277ee095..11c81e81d 100644
--- a/src/interpolation/detail/ArborX_InterpDetailsSymmetricPseudoInverseSVD.hpp
+++ b/src/interpolation/detail/ArborX_InterpDetailsSymmetricPseudoInverseSVD.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #define ARBORX_INTERP_SYMMETRIC_PSEUDO_INVERSE_SVD_HPP
 
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtAccessibilityTraits.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 #include <Kokkos_Profiling_ScopedRegion.hpp>
diff --git a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtMinMaxReduce.hpp b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtMinMaxReduce.hpp
index 19191dbf8..2a3727743 100644
--- a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtMinMaxReduce.hpp
+++ b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtMinMaxReduce.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #define ARBORX_KOKKOS_EXT_MIN_MAX_REDUCTIONS_HPP
 
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtAccessibilityTraits.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -34,7 +33,8 @@ minmax_reduce(ExecutionSpace const &space, ViewType const &v)
                 "minmax_reduce requires a View of rank 1");
 
   auto const n = v.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n > 0);
+  if (n == 0)
+    Kokkos::abort("ArborX: minmax_reduce: view must be non-empty");
 
   using ValueType = typename ViewType::non_const_value_type;
 
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ typename ViewType::non_const_value_type min_reduce(ExecutionSpace const &space,
   static_assert(ViewType::rank() == 1, "min_reduce requires a View of rank 1");
 
   auto const n = v.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n > 0);
+  if (n == 0)
+    Kokkos::abort("ArborX: minmax_reduce: view must be non-empty");
 
   using ValueType = typename ViewType::non_const_value_type;
 
@@ -96,7 +97,8 @@ typename ViewType::non_const_value_type max_reduce(ExecutionSpace const &space,
   static_assert(ViewType::rank() == 1, "max_reduce requires a View of rank 1");
 
   auto const n = v.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n > 0);
+  if (n == 0)
+    Kokkos::abort("ArborX: minmax_reduce: view must be non-empty");
 
   using ValueType = typename ViewType::non_const_value_type;
 
diff --git a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtSort.hpp b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtSort.hpp
index f76005e2e..4d60f932b 100644
--- a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtSort.hpp
+++ b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtSort.hpp
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@ void sortByKey(ExecutionSpace const &space, Keys &keys, Values &values)
   static_assert(KokkosExt::is_accessible_from<typename Values::memory_space,
                                               ExecutionSpace>::value);
   auto const n = keys.size();
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(values.size() == n);
+  if (values.size() != n)
+    Kokkos::abort(
+        "ArborX: sortByKey: keys and values must be of the same size");
 
   if (n == 0)
     return;
@@ -132,7 +134,9 @@ void sortByKey(
   static_assert(KokkosExt::is_accessible_from<typename Values::memory_space,
                                               ExecutionSpace>::value);
   auto const n = keys.size();
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(values.size() == n);
+  if (values.size() != n)
+    Kokkos::abort(
+        "ArborX: sortByKey: keys and values must be of the same size");
 
   if (n == 0)
     return;
@@ -165,7 +169,9 @@ void sortByKey(Kokkos::Experimental::SYCL const &space, Keys &keys,
   static_assert(KokkosExt::is_accessible_from<typename Values::memory_space,
                                               ExecutionSpace>::value);
   auto const n = keys.size();
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(values.size() == n);
+  if (values.size() != n)
+    Kokkos::abort(
+        "ArborX: sortByKey: keys and values must be of the same size");
 
   if (n == 0)
     return;
diff --git a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp
index 6ef835802..f18ac4cc3 100644
--- a/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp
+++ b/src/kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@
 #ifndef ARBORX_KOKKOS_EXT_VIEW_HELPERS_HPP
 #define ARBORX_KOKKOS_EXT_VIEW_HELPERS_HPP
 
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
-
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
 namespace ArborX::Details::KokkosExt
@@ -34,7 +32,7 @@ lastElement(ExecutionSpace const &space, Kokkos::View<T, P...> const &v)
   static_assert(unsigned(Kokkos::ViewTraits<T, P...>::rank) == unsigned(1),
                 "lastElement requires Views of rank 1");
   auto const n = v.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n > 0);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(n > 0);
   auto v_subview = Kokkos::subview(v, n - 1);
   typename Kokkos::ViewTraits<T, P...>::non_const_value_type v_host;
   Kokkos::deep_copy(space, v_host, v_subview);
diff --git a/src/misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp b/src/misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp
deleted file mode 100644
index d1ec2fe35..000000000
--- a/src/misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-/****************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2017-2022 by the ArborX authors                            *
- * All rights reserved.                                                     *
- *                                                                          *
- * This file is part of the ArborX library. ArborX is                       *
- * distributed under a BSD 3-clause license. For the licensing terms see    *
- * the LICENSE file in the top-level directory.                             *
- *                                                                          *
- * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause                                    *
- ****************************************************************************/
-#ifndef ARBORX_SEARCH_EXCEPTION_HPP
-#define ARBORX_SEARCH_EXCEPTION_HPP
-
-#include <stdexcept>
-#include <string>
-
-namespace ArborX
-{
-class SearchException : public std::logic_error
-{
-public:
-  SearchException(std::string const &msg)
-      : std::logic_error(std::string("ArborX exception: ") + msg)
-  {}
-};
-
-} // namespace ArborX
-
-#define ARBORX_STRINGIZE_DETAIL(x) #x
-#define ARBORX_STRINGIZE(x) ARBORX_STRINGIZE_DETAIL(x)
-
-// FIXME: Unconditionally assert for now
-// Once moved out, possibly make it conditional
-#define ARBORX_ASSERT(c)                                                       \
-  if (!(c))                                                                    \
-  throw ArborX::SearchException(#c ", failed at " __FILE__                     \
-                                   ":" ARBORX_STRINGIZE(__LINE__) ".")
-
-#endif
diff --git a/src/misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp b/src/misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp
index d68c42347..e41fee735 100644
--- a/src/misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp
+++ b/src/misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtSort.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtStdAlgorithms.hpp> // iota
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>   // clone
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -56,8 +55,8 @@ void applyInversePermutation(ExecutionSpace const &space,
   static_assert(std::is_integral_v<typename PermutationView::value_type>);
 
   auto const n = input_view.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(permutation.extent(0) == n);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(output_view.extent(0) == n);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(permutation.extent(0) == n);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(output_view.extent(0) == n);
 
   Kokkos::parallel_for(
       "ArborX::Sorting::inverse_permute", Kokkos::RangePolicy(space, 0, n),
@@ -78,8 +77,8 @@ void applyPermutation(ExecutionSpace const &space,
   static_assert(std::is_integral_v<typename PermutationView::value_type>);
 
   auto const n = input_view.extent(0);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(permutation.extent(0) == n);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(output_view.extent(0) == n);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(permutation.extent(0) == n);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(output_view.extent(0) == n);
 
   Kokkos::parallel_for(
       "ArborX::Sorting::permute", Kokkos::RangePolicy(space, 0, n),
diff --git a/src/misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp b/src/misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp
index ae30c9134..71ece3bd3 100644
--- a/src/misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp
+++ b/src/misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtAccessibilityTraits.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
diff --git a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_BruteForceImpl.hpp b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_BruteForceImpl.hpp
index cc5437b1f..a50806e16 100644
--- a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_BruteForceImpl.hpp
+++ b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_BruteForceImpl.hpp
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtArithmeticTraits.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtStdAlgorithms.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_PriorityQueue.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
@@ -68,8 +67,8 @@ struct BruteForceImpl
         max_scratch_size / 2 / sizeof(PredicateType);
     int const indexables_per_team =
         max_scratch_size / 2 / sizeof(IndexableType);
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(predicates_per_team > 0);
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(indexables_per_team > 0);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(predicates_per_team > 0);
+    KOKKOS_ASSERT(indexables_per_team > 0);
 
     int const n_indexable_tiles =
         std::ceil((float)n_indexables / indexables_per_team);
diff --git a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_CrsGraphWrapperImpl.hpp b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_CrsGraphWrapperImpl.hpp
index 7f33b6924..fea5a700d 100644
--- a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_CrsGraphWrapperImpl.hpp
+++ b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_CrsGraphWrapperImpl.hpp
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtStdAlgorithms.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
 
+#include <Kokkos_Assert.hpp>
+
 namespace ArborX
 {
 namespace Details
@@ -227,7 +229,8 @@ void queryImpl(ExecutionSpace const &space, Tree const &tree,
     // Not enough (individual) storage for results
 
     // If it was hard preallocation, we simply throw
-    ARBORX_ASSERT(buffer_status != BufferStatus::PreallocationHard);
+    if (buffer_status == BufferStatus::PreallocationHard)
+      Kokkos::abort("ArborX: overflow occued with hard preallocation");
 
     // Otherwise, do the second pass
     Kokkos::Profiling::pushRegion(
diff --git a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeConstruction.hpp b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeConstruction.hpp
index 84c1f6d25..f8798cf4b 100644
--- a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeConstruction.hpp
+++ b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeConstruction.hpp
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 #include <detail/ArborX_Node.hpp> // makeLeafNode
 #include <detail/ArborX_SpaceFillingCurves.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtArithmeticTraits.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ inline void projectOntoSpaceFillingCurve(ExecutionSpace const &space,
                                          LinearOrdering linear_ordering_indices)
 {
   size_t const n = indexables.size();
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(linear_ordering_indices.extent(0) == n);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(linear_ordering_indices.extent(0) == n);
   static_assert(
       std::is_same_v<typename LinearOrdering::value_type,
                      decltype(curve(scene_bounding_box, indexables(0)))>);
@@ -67,8 +66,8 @@ initializeSingleLeafTree(ExecutionSpace const &space, Values const &values,
                          IndexableGetter const &indexable_getter,
                          Nodes const &leaf_nodes, BoundingVolume &bounds)
 {
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(leaf_nodes.extent(0) == 1);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(values.size() == 1);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(leaf_nodes.extent(0) == 1);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(values.size() == 1);
 
   // Skip initialization so that we don't execute a kernel launch
   Kokkos::View<BoundingVolume, typename Nodes::memory_space> bounding_volume(
diff --git a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeNodeLabeling.hpp b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeNodeLabeling.hpp
index b72c18023..eeeec5907 100644
--- a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeNodeLabeling.hpp
+++ b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeNodeLabeling.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #define ARBORX_TREE_NODE_LABELING_HPP
 
 #include <detail/ArborX_HappyTreeFriends.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -28,8 +27,8 @@ void findParents(ExecutionSpace const &exec_space, BVH const &bvh,
 {
   int const n = bvh.size();
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n >= 2);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT((int)parents.size() == 2 * n - 1);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(n >= 2);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT((int)parents.size() == 2 * n - 1);
 
   Kokkos::parallel_for(
       "ArborX::recompute_internal_and_leaf_node_parents",
@@ -45,8 +44,8 @@ void reduceLabels(ExecutionSpace const &exec_space, Parents const &parents,
 {
   int const n = (parents.size() + 1) / 2;
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(n >= 2);
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(labels.size() == parents.size());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(n >= 2);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(labels.size() == parents.size());
 
   using ValueType = typename Labels::value_type;
   constexpr ValueType indeterminate = -1;
diff --git a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeTraversal.hpp b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeTraversal.hpp
index b742fb5b8..d5c5bc1f4 100644
--- a/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeTraversal.hpp
+++ b/src/spatial/detail/ArborX_TreeTraversal.hpp
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtArithmeticTraits.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtStdAlgorithms.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_PriorityQueue.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_Stack.hpp>
 
diff --git a/test/ArborX_BoostRangeAdapters.hpp b/test/ArborX_BoostRangeAdapters.hpp
index 381df64c1..a7d8d0cdb 100644
--- a/test/ArborX_BoostRangeAdapters.hpp
+++ b/test/ArborX_BoostRangeAdapters.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #define ARBORX_BOOST_RANGE_ADAPTERS_HPP
 
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtAccessibilityTraits.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -104,7 +103,7 @@ range_end(Kokkos::View<T, P...> &v)
 {
   using View = Kokkos::View<T, P...>;
   ARBORX_ASSERT_VIEW_COMPATIBLE(View)
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(v.span_is_contiguous());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(v.span_is_contiguous());
   return v.data() + v.span();
 }
 
@@ -114,7 +113,7 @@ range_end(Kokkos::View<T, P...> const &v)
 {
   using View = Kokkos::View<T, P...>;
   ARBORX_ASSERT_VIEW_COMPATIBLE(View)
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(v.span_is_contiguous());
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(v.span_is_contiguous());
   return v.data() + v.span();
 }
 
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtKernelStdAlgorithms.cpp b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtKernelStdAlgorithms.cpp
index 89217c0ea..543f7533a 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtKernelStdAlgorithms.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtKernelStdAlgorithms.cpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #include "ArborX_EnableViewComparison.hpp"
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtKernelStdAlgorithms.hpp>
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtMinMaxReduce.cpp b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtMinMaxReduce.cpp
index 3fc972399..f11fa815a 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtMinMaxReduce.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtMinMaxReduce.cpp
@@ -46,8 +46,9 @@ BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE_TEMPLATE(minmax_reduce, DeviceType, ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES)
   BOOST_TEST(std::get<0>(result_float) == 1.41);
   BOOST_TEST(std::get<1>(result_float) == 3.14);
   Kokkos::View<int *, DeviceType> w("w", 0);
-  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(KokkosExt::minmax_reduce(space, w),
-                    ArborX::SearchException);
+  // FIXME: need death testing
+  // BOOST_CHECK_THROW(KokkosExt::minmax_reduce(space, w),
+  // ArborX::SearchException);
   Kokkos::resize(w, 1);
   Kokkos::deep_copy(w, 255);
   auto const result_int = KokkosExt::minmax_reduce(space, w);
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtStdAlgorithms.cpp b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtStdAlgorithms.cpp
index 0bde51b2f..f0aa80ae0 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtStdAlgorithms.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtStdAlgorithms.cpp
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 #include "ArborX_EnableDeviceTypes.hpp" // ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES
 #include "ArborX_EnableViewComparison.hpp"
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtStdAlgorithms.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtUninitializedMemoryAlgorithms.cpp b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtUninitializedMemoryAlgorithms.cpp
index 3fcd30dbb..ce828839a 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtUninitializedMemoryAlgorithms.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtUninitializedMemoryAlgorithms.cpp
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 
 #include "ArborX_EnableDeviceTypes.hpp" // ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtUninitializedMemoryAlgorithms.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtViewHelpers.cpp b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtViewHelpers.cpp
index fde532dc2..31f482f32 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtViewHelpers.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsKokkosExtViewHelpers.cpp
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 
 #include "ArborX_EnableDeviceTypes.hpp" // ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES
 #include <kokkos_ext/ArborX_KokkosExtViewHelpers.hpp>
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 
 #include <Kokkos_Core.hpp>
 
@@ -33,8 +32,10 @@ BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE_TEMPLATE(last_element, DeviceType, ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES)
   v_host(1) = 24;
   Kokkos::deep_copy(v, v_host);
   BOOST_TEST(lastElement(execution_space, v) == 24);
-  Kokkos::View<int *, DeviceType> w("w", 0);
-  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(lastElement(execution_space, w), ArborX::SearchException);
+  // FIXME: need death testing
+  // Kokkos::View<int *, DeviceType> w("w", 0);
+  // BOOST_CHECK_THROW(lastElement(execution_space, w),
+  // ArborX::SearchException);
   Kokkos::View<double[1], DeviceType> u("u");
   Kokkos::deep_copy(u, 3.14);
   BOOST_TEST(lastElement(execution_space, u) == 3.14);
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsMutualReachabilityDistance.cpp b/test/tstDetailsMutualReachabilityDistance.cpp
index 7a8acea43..23d8e2a6a 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsMutualReachabilityDistance.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsMutualReachabilityDistance.cpp
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ auto compute_core_distances(ExecutionSpace exec_space,
 {
   auto points = toView<ExecutionSpace>(points_host, "Test::points");
 
-  ARBORX_ASSERT(points.extent_int(0) >= k);
+  KOKKOS_ASSERT(points.extent_int(0) >= k);
   using MemorySpace = typename ExecutionSpace::memory_space;
   ArborX::BoundingVolumeHierarchy bvh{
       exec_space, ArborX::Experimental::attach_indices(points)};
diff --git a/test/tstDetailsUtils.cpp b/test/tstDetailsUtils.cpp
index 232f56389..982d5a9ca 100644
--- a/test/tstDetailsUtils.cpp
+++ b/test/tstDetailsUtils.cpp
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 #include "ArborXTest_StdVectorToKokkosView.hpp"
 #include "ArborX_EnableDeviceTypes.hpp" // ARBORX_DEVICE_TYPES
 #include "ArborX_EnableViewComparison.hpp"
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_SortUtils.hpp>
 #include <misc/ArborX_Utils.hpp>
 
diff --git a/test/tstException.cpp b/test/tstException.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index 859bd9b36..000000000
--- a/test/tstException.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-/****************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2017-2022 by the ArborX authors                            *
- * All rights reserved.                                                     *
- *                                                                          *
- * This file is part of the ArborX library. ArborX is                       *
- * distributed under a BSD 3-clause license. For the licensing terms see    *
- * the LICENSE file in the top-level directory.                             *
- *                                                                          *
- * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause                                    *
- ****************************************************************************/
-
-#include <misc/ArborX_Exception.hpp>
-
-#include <boost/test/unit_test.hpp>
-
-BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE(DesignByContract)
-
-BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(dumb)
-{
-  using namespace ArborX;
-  BOOST_CHECK_NO_THROW(ARBORX_ASSERT(true));
-  std::string const prefix = "ArborX exception: ";
-  BOOST_CHECK_EXCEPTION(
-      ARBORX_ASSERT(false), SearchException, [&](std::exception const &e) {
-        std::string const message = e.what();
-        bool const message_starts_with_prefix = message.find(prefix) == 0;
-        bool const message_contains_filename =
-            message.find(__FILE__) != std::string::npos;
-        return message_starts_with_prefix && message_contains_filename;
-      });
-  std::string const message = "Keep calm and chive on!";
-  BOOST_CHECK_EXCEPTION(
-      throw SearchException(message), std::exception,
-      [&](std::exception const &e) { return prefix + message == e.what(); });
-}
-
-BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END()
diff --git a/test/tstQueryTreeTraversalPolicy.cpp b/test/tstQueryTreeTraversalPolicy.cpp
index 67d760461..5392c01e4 100644
--- a/test/tstQueryTreeTraversalPolicy.cpp
+++ b/test/tstQueryTreeTraversalPolicy.cpp
@@ -99,10 +99,11 @@ BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE_TEMPLATE(buffer_optimization, DeviceType,
       ArborX::query(bvh, ExecutionSpace{}, queries, indices, offset,
                     ArborX::Experimental::TraversalPolicy().setBufferSize(+1)));
   checkResultsAreFine();
-  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(
-      ArborX::query(bvh, ExecutionSpace{}, queries, indices, offset,
-                    ArborX::Experimental::TraversalPolicy().setBufferSize(-1)),
-      ArborX::SearchException);
+  // FIXME: need death testing
+  // BOOST_CHECK_THROW(
+  // ArborX::query(bvh, ExecutionSpace{}, queries, indices, offset,
+  // ArborX::Experimental::TraversalPolicy().setBufferSize(-1)),
+  // ArborX::SearchException);
 
   // adequate buffer size
   BOOST_TEST(max_results_per_query < 5);