voluntary jurisdiction

2 definitions found

voluntary jurisdiction - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Voluntary \Vol"un*ta*ry\, a. [L. voluntarius, fr. voluntas will,
     choice, from the root of velle to will, p. pr. volens; akin
     to E. will: cf. F. volontaire, Of. also voluntaire. See
     Will, v. t., and cf. Benevolent, Volition,
     Volunteer.]
     1. Proceeding from the will; produced in or by an act of
        choice.
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              That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary
              action is the true principle of orthodoxy. --N. W.
                                                    Taylor.
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     2. Unconstrained by the interference of another; unimpelled
        by the influence of another; not prompted or persuaded by
        another; done of his or its own accord; spontaneous;
        acting of one's self, or of itself; free.
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              Our voluntary service he requires.    --Milton.
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              She fell to lust a voluntary prey.    --Pope.
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     3. Done by design or intention; intentional; purposed;
        intended; not accidental; as, if a man kills another by
        lopping a tree, it is not voluntary manslaughter.
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     4. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to the will; subject to, or
        regulated by, the will; as, the voluntary motions of an
        animal, such as the movements of the leg or arm (in
        distinction from involuntary motions, such as the
        movements of the heart); the voluntary muscle fibers,
        which are the agents in voluntary motion.
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     5. Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary
        agent.
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              God did not work as a necessary, but a voluntary,
              agent, intending beforehand, and decreeing with
              himself, that which did outwardly proceed from him.
                                                    --Hooker.
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     6. (Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will,
        consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration;
        gratuitous; without valuable consideration.
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     7. (Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary
        church, in distinction from an established or state
        church.
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     Voluntary affidavit or Voluntary oath (Law), an affidavit
        or oath made in an extrajudicial matter.
  
     Voluntary conveyance (Law), a conveyance without valuable
        consideration.
  
     Voluntary escape (Law), the escape of a prisoner by the
        express consent of the sheriff.
  
     Voluntary jurisdiction. (Eng. Eccl. Law) See Contentious  jurisdiction
        , under Contentious.
  
     Voluntary waste. (Law) See Waste, n., 4.
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     Syn: See Spontaneous.
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voluntary jurisdiction - Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) :

  VOLUNTARY JURISDICTION. In the ecclesiastical law, jurisdiction is either 
  contentious jurisdiction, (q.v.) or voluntary jurisdiction. By the latter 
  term is understood that kind of jurisdiction which requires no judicial 
  proceedings, as, the granting letters of administration and receiving the 
  probate of wills.