Jurisdiction
/dʒʊərɪsˈdɪkʃən/
Definitions
The official power to make legal decisions and judgments; the territory or type of activity over which a court or other official body has authority.
/dʒʊərɪsˈdɪkʃən/
The official power to make legal decisions and judgments.
The court's jurisdiction is limited to cases involving federal law.
💡 Simply: Imagine a school principal. Their jurisdiction is the school - they can make rules and decisions about what happens there. If something happens outside the school, they don't have the power to make those decisions. Jurisdiction is like that – it's the specific area or type of issue that a legal authority or government has control over.
👶 For kids: It's the power that someone has to make rules or decisions in a certain area. Like, the police have jurisdiction over a city.
More Examples
The dispute fell outside the jurisdiction of the local court.
The organization's jurisdiction extends to environmental protection.
How It's Used
"The court has jurisdiction over the case."
"The federal government has jurisdiction over interstate commerce."
Idioms & expressions
beyond (one's) jurisdiction
Outside of one's authority or control.
"The matter of the city's finances is beyond the scope of my jurisdiction."
to fall under the jurisdiction of
To be subject to the authority of something.
"This case falls under the jurisdiction of the federal court."
From Latin *jurisdictio* ("administration of justice, legal authority"), from *juris* ("of law, right") + *dictio* ("a saying, declaration, assertion").
The word "jurisdiction" has been used in legal contexts since the Middle Ages, evolving from the Latin term for legal authority.
Memory tip
Think of "jur" as in "jury" (decisions). Jurisdiction is the area the jury or judge's decision applies to.
Practice
Word Origin
Root: jurisdictio