Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority held by a legal entity to enact justice. Jurisdiction is rarely claimed to be complete: rather it is limited for example by geography, subject matter, or other factor. It is only within the scope (inside the limits) of such jurisdiction that, for example, the parties to a dispute have standing to bring the matter (a legal question) before a judge, who has power (or 'jurisdiction') to decide it authoritatively.

court of law empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal

international law term

court jurisdiction over only some kinds of matters

power of a court over cases that have not been appealed to a different court

, or competence-competence, is a jurisprudential doctrine whereby a legal body, such as a court or arbitral tribunal, may have competence, or jurisdiction, to rule as to the extent of its own competence on an issue before it. The concept arose in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Since then, has often been important in international arbitration.