subject matter jurisdiction

noun

In the law of civil procedure, the ability of a court to hear a case based on the authority granted to the court to hear that particular type of case.

“The divorce court was overturned when it rendered a criminal conviction against a party, because it lacked the subject matter jurisdiction to hear a criminal case.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noun
  1. lawIn the law of civil procedure, the ability of a court to hear a case based on the authority granted to the court to hear that particular type of case.

    The divorce court was overturned when it rendered a criminal conviction against a party, because it lacked the subject matter jurisdiction to hear a criminal case.

Cite this entry
APA

subject matter jurisdiction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subject%20matter%20jurisdiction

MLA

“subject matter jurisdiction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subject%20matter%20jurisdiction. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subject matter jurisdiction,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subject%20matter%20jurisdiction.

Source: subject matter jurisdiction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.