territorial limits
Where authority ends
Territorial limits are the boundaries defining where a government, authority, or legal jurisdiction holds power.
A nation's territorial limits mark where its sovereignty ends and another's begins.
Courts operate within territorial limits—a state court lacks authority beyond state lines.
The phrase appears in legal contexts concerning jurisdiction, sovereignty, and enforcement: The treaty defined territorial limits extending twelve miles offshore.
- buffer zoneNeutral area between rivals
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- tribal landIndigenous community's territory
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- coastlineLand-water boundary
national boundary · exclusion zone · demarcation · watershed · border dispute · continental shelf · no-fly zone · restricted area · international law · enclave · mountain range · treaty · river basin · isthmus · annexation · land grab · sphere of influence · extradition
territorial limitsinternational waters
Ocean beyond national jurisdiction
high seas · open waters · open seas · open ocean · freedom of the seas
territorial, territory, territories, territoriality, extraterritorial, limit, limits, limited, limiting