Law's Territory (A History of Jurisdiction)

Abstract

of this Article is that territorial jurisdictions -the rigidly mapped territories within which formally defined legal powers are exercised by formally organized governmental institutions -are relatively new and intuitively surprising technological developments.New, because until the development of modern cartography, legal au thority generally followed relationships of status rather than those of autochthony.Today jurisdiction seems inevitable, but, like death, it is "a habit to which consciousness has not been long accustomed."1 Surprising?We are now accustomed to territorial jurisdiction ...:._ _ so much so that it is hard to imagine that government could be or ganized any other way.But despite several hundred years of accli mation, people continue to be disoriented, baffled, and thrilled by the consequences of jurisdictional legality.We are filled with some times grudging admiration when the latest Esmeralda evades