Inherent jurisdiction

Inherent jurisdiction is a doctrine of English common law under which a superior court may hear any matter that comes before it, unless a statute or rule limits that authority or gives exclusive jurisdiction to another court or tribunal. The term is also used when a governmental institution derives its jurisdiction from a fundamental governing instrument such as a constitution. In the case of Bremer Vulkan v South India Shipping, Lord Diplock described it as a general power to control the court's own procedure so as to prevent its being used to achieve injustice. Four general categories of use are recognised: ensuring convenience and fairness in legal proceedings, preventing steps that would render judicial proceedings inefficacious, preventing abuses of process, and acting in aid of superior courts and in aid or control of inferior courts and tribunals. The power stems from the inherent powers of a court, not from any particular statute.