Jurisdiction,

Jurisdiction, in Law, means the authority which a court or judge has to entertain a particular case and decide it. The general rule is, that if a court which has no jurisdiction to decide a particular case does decide it, the judgment is a mere nullity. Jurisdiction may be limited either locally, as in the case of a county court; or personally, as where a court has a quorum; or as to amount, as when the Court of Session in Scotland takes cognisance only of cases above the value of £25; or as to the nature of the questions to be determined, whether crimes or civil actions. Jurisdiction is said to be concurrent or cumulative when it may be exercised in the same cause by any one of two or more courts at the choice of the suitor. In criminal procedure, to prevent the collision which might arise from each of the courts claiming to exercise the right, it has been established as a rule that the judge who first exercises jurisdiction in the cause acquires a right, jure preventionis, to judge in it exclusive of the others. 'This right of prevention plainly appears to be peculiar to criminal jurisdiction. In civil process it is the private pursuer who has the only right of choosing before which of the courts he shall sue' (see INTERNATIONAL LAW). Jurisdiction is said to be privative, on the other hand, when the court having jurisdiction is the only court entitled to adjudicate in such cases. When a judge appoints another person to act in his place as deputy or substitute he is said to delegate his jurisdiction.