Jurisdiction (area)

For an article concerning the powers of courts and public authority, see jurisdiction.

A jurisdiction is an area with a set of laws under the control of a system of courts or government entity which are different from neighbouring areas.

Each state in a federation such as Australia, Germany and the United States forms a separate jurisdiction. However, sometimes certain laws in a federal state are uniform across the constituent states and enforced by a set of federal courts; with a result that the federal state forms a single jurisdiction for that purpose.

It is also possible for a jurisdiction to prosecute for crimes committed somewhere outside its jurisdiction, once the perpetrator returns In some cases, a citizen of another jurisdiction outside its own can be extradited to where a jurisdiction where the crime is illegal, even if it was not committed in that jurisdiction.

Unitary states are usually single jurisdictions, but the United Kingdom is a notable exception; it has three separate jurisdictions due to its three separate legal systems.

See also

• Political division
• State (polity)
• Sovereign state
• Federated state
• State law

Further reading

• Beale, Joseph H. (1935) A Treatise on the Conflict of Laws. ISBN ISBN 1-58477-425-8
• Dicey & Morris. (1993) The Conflict of Laws 12th edition. London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd. (pp26/30) ISBN 0-420-48280-6
• McClean, David. (2000). Morris: The Conflict of Laws. London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd. ISBN 0-421-66160-7