A jurisdiction is an area with a set of laws and under the control of a system of courts or government entity that is different from neighbouring areas.
Each
state in a
federation such as
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
forms a separate jurisdiction. However, certain laws in a federal state are sometimes uniform across the constituent states and enforced by a set of federal courts; with the result that the federal state forms a single jurisdiction for that purpose.
A jurisdiction may also prosecute for crimes committed outside its jurisdiction once the perpetrator returns. In some cases, a citizen of another jurisdiction outside its own, can be
extradited to a jurisdiction in which the crime is illegal even if it was not committed in that jurisdiction.
are usually single jurisdictions, but the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
is a notable exception since it has three separate jurisdictions because of its
three separate legal systems. Also,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
has the separate jurisdictions of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macao.
See also
*
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction
*
Political division
*
State (polity)
A state is a politics, political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states.
A country often has a single state, with various a ...
*
Sovereign state
A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
*
Federated state
*
State law
*
Change of venue
Further reading
* Beale, Joseph H. (1935) ''A Treatise on the Conflict of Laws''.
*
Dicey & Morris. (1993) ''The Conflict of Laws'' 12th edition. London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd. (pp26/30)
* McClean, David. (2000). ''Morris: The Conflict of Laws''. London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.
References
Conflict of laws
International law
{{International-law-stub