In law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak") is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility.

Or in common English: Jurisdiction is the authority given to a legal body, or to a political leader (Prime Minister, President, etc.) to deal with legal matters, and to pronounce or enforce legal matters.

As a topic, jurisdiction draws its substance from public international law, conflict of laws, constitutional law and the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government to allocate resources to best serve the needs of its native society.

Types of judicial jurisdiction

There are three main types of judicial jurisdiction, personal (personam), territorial (locum), and subject matter (subjectam):

• Personal - Authority over a person, regardless of his location.
• Territorial - Authority confined to a bounded space, including all those present therein, and events which occur there.
• Subject Matter - Authority over the subject of the legal questions involved in the case.

For jurisdiction to be complete, a court must have a concurrence of subject matter jurisdiction with either personal or territorial jurisdiction. The territorial jurisdiction is critical, on the principle that courts enforce laws which are territorial in their authority.

A succinct definition can be stated as follows: "An area of land that is governed by an entity who can hold those residing therein accountable for following specific laws."

Courts may also have jurisdiction that is exclusive or concurrent (or shared). Where a court has exclusive jurisdiction over a territory or subject matter, it is the only court that is authorized to address that matter. Where a court has concurrent or shared jurisdiction, multiple courts in the same area can address the matter. Where concurrent jurisdiction exists in civil cases, the parties may attempt to engage in forum shopping, by bringing or moving the case to the court which they deem most favorable to them.

Jurisdiction in the international dimension

Public international law provides a framework within which nations and states (in the political sense of the words) can come into being and relate to each other.

Jurisdiction as a political issue

A number of supranational organizations and bodies have been created which provide mechanisms whereby disputes between states may be avoided, discussed or resolved, e.g. through arbitration or mediation. When a country is recognized as de jure, this is an acknowledgment by the other de jure nations that the new country has sovereignty and the right to exist. This is a political system that moves slowly, gathering consensus wherever possible and the extent to which any state will co-operate or participate is always at the discretion of each sovereign state. Necessarily, if any state does agree to participate in any of the activities of the supranational bodies and to accept decisions that might be made in the ordinary course of their business, that state is giving up a little of its sovereign authority and thereby allocating a little power to these bodies. Insofar as these bodies or nominated individuals may resolve disputes in a judicial or quasi-judicial fashion, or promote treaty obligations in the nature of laws, the power ceded to these bodies cumulatively represents each body's own jurisdiction. But no matter how powerful each body may appear to become, the extent to which any of the judgments may be enforced, or proposed treaties and conventions may become or remain effective within the territorial boundaries of each nation is a political matter under the sovereign control of the relevant representative government(s) which, in a democratic context, will have electorates to satisfy.