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Remarks On Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Michael Blechman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In United States jurisprudence, two quite different legal concepts are both labeled jurisdiction. In personam or personal jurisdiction refers to the extent to which a court has power over a particular defendant. Subject matter jurisdiction is an entirely different concept that addresses the question of whether a particular law is intended to apply to different kinds of conduct. In the antitrust area, for example, obtaining subject matter jurisdiction depends upon whether conduct within the United States has a sufficient impact on interstate commerce or foreign conduct has a sufficient impact on United States domestic or export commerce to be within …