Jurisdiction :: Term :: COLD

Jurisdiction

The issues or domains over which a statutory or prerogative authority has power or a mandate.
- Published in Administrative Law by David Mullan
Legal authority to decide.
- Published in The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 4th ed. by Honourable Mr. Justice Robert J. Sharpe and Kent Roach
The legal authority to act in certain manners. Parliament must have jurisdiction to legislate over particular criminal matters, and courts and judges must have jurisdiction in various ways (for example, territorially) to conduct a trial.
- Published in Criminal Procedure, Second Edition by Steve Coughlan
Specifies or stipulates the limits of authority of a body’s authority. For a law enforcement agency, the jurisdiction defines the legal boundaries of operation that generally coincide with political boundaries, such as the limits of a city, and with the types of cases for which it assumes responsibility. The same basic description applies to courts.
- Published in Mental Health Courts, Decriminalizing the Mentally Ill by Richard D. Schneider, Hy Bloom and Mark Heerema
The various forms of power exercised by a state over persons, property, events, and territory.
- Published in Public International Law, 2d ed. by John H. Currie
At one level, jurisdiction refers to a set boundary or territory; hence, “Canada” is a jurisdiction with specific borders and defined geographic space. Jurisdiction also refers to a notion of juridical power; hence, one can speak of “federal” or “provincial” jurisdiction (based on the division of powers in the Constitution Act, 1867) or whether, for example, a small claims court judge has jurisdiction (i.e., legitimate power) to hear a defamation claim.
- Published in Legal Research and Writing, 3d ed. by Ted Tjaden