Jurisdiction (area)

A jurisdiction is an area with a set of laws under the control of a system of courts or government entity that is different that of from neighbouring areas.

Each state in a federation such as Australia, Germany and the United States 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 a result that the federal state forms a single jurisdiction for that purpose.

A jurisdiction may also prosecute for crimes committed somewhere outside its jurisdiction once the perpetrator returns. In some cases, a citizen of another jurisdiction outside its own can be extradited to a jurisdiction in which the crime is illegal even if it was not committed in that jurisdiction.

Unitary states are usually single jurisdictions, but the United Kingdom is a notable exception since it has three separate jurisdictions because of its three separate legal systems. Also, China has the separate jurisdictions of Hong Kong and Macao.