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
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
in a
federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
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
In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...
to a jurisdiction in which the crime is illegal even if it was not committed in that jurisdiction.
Unitary state
A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...
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
Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world.
Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
.
See also
*
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is jurisdiction by Clergy, church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity.
Overview
Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for examp ...
*
Political division
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
*
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
A federated state (also State (polity), state, province, region, Canton (administrative division), canton, Länder, land, governorate, oblast, emirate, or country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation ...
*
State law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...
*
Change of venue
A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial (law), trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to wides ...
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