jurisdiction

Definitions

1. 1.The authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate; the right of making or enforcing laws; the power or right of exercising authority. To live exempt From Heaven's high jurisdiction. Milton. You wrought to be a legate; by which power You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. Shak.
2. 2.Sphere of authority; the limits within which any particular power may be exercised, or within which a government or a court has authority. Note: Jurisdiction, in its most general sense, is the power to make, declare, or apply the law. When confined to the judiciary department, it is what we denominate the judicial power, the right of administering justice through the laws, by the means which the laws have provided for that purpose. Jurisdiction is limited to place or territory, to persons, or to particular subjects. Duponceau.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

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