Legal Definitions - jurisdictional-fact doctrine

Definition: The jurisdictional-fact doctrine is a principle in administrative law that states that if evidence is presented challenging the factual findings that led to an agency's action, then a court will review the facts to determine whether the agency had the authority to act in the first place. This doctrine is generally no longer applied.

Example: An example of the jurisdictional-fact doctrine would be if a government agency issued a permit to a company to build a factory in a certain location based on the agency's finding that the location was not a protected wetland. If evidence is presented later that shows the location was indeed a protected wetland, a court may review the facts to determine whether the agency had the authority to issue the permit in the first place.

Explanation: The example illustrates how the jurisdictional-fact doctrine works in practice. If evidence is presented that challenges the factual findings that led to an agency's action, a court will review the facts to determine whether the agency had the authority to act. In this case, if the court finds that the agency did not have the authority to issue the permit because the location was a protected wetland, the permit may be revoked.