Exclusive jurisdiction is when only one court can hear and decide on a specific matter, while concurrent jurisdiction allows multiple courts to decide a dispute. Some cases can only be heard in one court to avoid inconclusive interpretations of laws. Bankruptcy and tax courts have exclusive jurisdiction over their respective areas of law.
Exclusive jurisdiction exists when there is only one court that has the right to hear and decide on a particular matter. It is distinct from concurrent jurisdiction, which occurs when multiple courts have a vested interest and legal right to decide a dispute. Exclusive jurisdiction exists in limited courts, such as bankruptcy court and tax court.
Many courts are courts of general jurisdiction. This means that the court can hear a variety of different cases. For example, a state court may be able to hear matters relating to real estate, personal injury, breach of contract, or labor law violations.
Some matters are also matters over which there is concurrent jurisdiction. For example, if someone has been the victim of a violation of federal employment laws, that individual could take the case to federal court because the case stems from federal law. If the victim wishes, they could also take the case to state court, although if they did, the defendant would also have the option of keeping the case in state court or requesting that the case be transferred to federal court so that they could have your rights under federal law as interpreted by a court at the federal level. When a competing jurisdiction exists, this choice of forum is often referred to as “forum shopping” because each party can choose to choose the court it believes will treat its situation most favorably.
To avoid forum shopping, and in recognition of the fact that certain matters should only be decided by one court system to avoid inconclusive interpretation of certain laws that could arise if multiple courts hear the case, some cases can only be heard in one court. For example, only federal courts can hear cases arising under the US Constitution, as it would be problematic if two different states came to different conclusions about what constitutional rights mean. In these situations, the court having authority to hear the case is said to have exclusive jurisdiction.
Similarly, when the federal tax system was created and when the federal bankruptcy law was created, the statutes created exclusive jurisdiction in the federal tax court and federal bankruptcy court, respectively. Bankruptcy law and tax law can be complex and are very specialized areas of law, so they should be handled by a judge who has extensive experience in that field. With exclusive jurisdiction, a plaintiff must file the case in the appropriate bankruptcy or tax court in his or her state if he or she wishes to file a tax or bankruptcy case.
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