As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is “distinctly American in concept and function,” as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes observed.

The Supreme Court has also a very wide appellate jurisdiction over all Courts and Tribunals in India in as much as it may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any Court …

The Constitution established the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction to provide a tribunal of the highest stature for disputes to which a state was a party and for cases involving the representatives of foreign nations. In practice, the Supreme Court has only rarely exercised its jurisdiction over foreign officials.

In simple words jurisdiction can be defined as the limit of judicial authority or the extent to which a court of law can exercise its authority over suits, cases, appeals and other proceedings.

Jurisdiction is important because it limits the power of a court to hear certain cases. If courts did not exercise appropriate jurisdiction, every court could conceivably hear every case brought to them, which would lead to confusing and contradictory results.

There are three types of jurisdictions:

• Original Jurisdiction– the court that gets to hear the case first.
• Appellate Jurisdiction– the power for a higher court to review a lower courts decision.
• Exclusive Jurisdiction– only that court can hear a specific case.

A Latin term meaning “against a person.” An in personam proceeding decides the personal rights and interests of the parties named in the action. For example, a plaintiff may bring an in personam action against a defendant for breach of a contract.

In rem jurisdiction (“power about or against ‘the thing’”) is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a “status” against a person over whom the court does not have in personam jurisdiction.

An attachment is a court order seizing specific property. Attachment is used both as a pre-trial provisional remedy and to enforce a final judgment. Quasi in rem subtype 2 jurisdiction is sometimes called “attachment jurisdiction.” See quasi in rem.

In personam (personal) jurisdiction is the authority over a person, subject matter jurisdiction is the authority of the type of case, and in rem (property) is the authority over property. Under this doctrine, the court could enter a judgment concerning the property rights of the absent party.

Rem is Latin for ‘thing. ‘ When a court exercises in rem jurisdiction, it exercises authority over a thing, rather than a person. For example, if a divorcing couple asks a court to supervise the sale of their family home, the court exercises in rem jurisdiction over the house.

For a court to exercise in rem jurisdiction, five conditions must be satisfied:

1. Value of property: The property must be valuable.
2. Location of property: The property must be located within the territory in which the court has jurisdiction.

In personam is a Latin phrase meaning “against a particular person”. In personam is distinguished from in rem, which applies to property or “all the world” instead of a specific person. This technical distinction is important to determine where to file a lawsuit and how to serve a defendant.

against or about a thing

[Jurisprudence] – These terms are derived from the Roman terms, “action in rem” and “action in personam.” A right in rem is available against the whole world but a right in personam is available against a particular individual only. Rights in rem are negative, while most rights in personam are positive.