Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
J ...
only on certain types of cases such as
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
, and
family matters.
Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to
general jurisdiction
{{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010
A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.
United States
All federal courts ...
, derive power from an issuing authority, such as a
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
or a
statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...
. Special jurisdiction courts must demonstrate that they are authorized to exert jurisdiction under their issuing authority. In contrast, general jurisdiction courts need only to demonstrate that they may assert in
personal jurisdiction over a party.
Differences
Sometimes the term "special courts" is used to refer to courts of limited
jurisdiction: "Special courts" has unfortunate connotations, however, because the
designation is often given by totalitarian governments to tribunals set up to persecute government opponents or otherwise help commit human rights abuses. That is a different kind of justice: not because it does not confer upon courts the power to hear only certain types of cases; but above all because a
political trial denies the basic principles of the
due process of law.
Examples
Courts of limited jurisdiction "exist in virtually all modern
nations. In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, for instance, the federal court system
includes several important courts of limited jurisdiction, including
the
U.S. Tax Court, the
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. It was established by statute in 1982 as the United States Claims Court, ...
, the U.S. Court
of International Trade, and the
U.S. Court of Military Appeals.
Courts of limited jurisdiction exist in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and in many Latin
American countries, such as
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
".
[Travieso-Diaz, Matias F., Musa, Armando A., ''Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in a Post-Transition Cuba'', 39 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 125 (2006), p. 127.]
See also
*
Specialized court
*
General jurisdiction
{{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010
A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.
United States
All federal courts ...
References
Jurisdiction
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