Search Result for "voluntary jurisdiction":

The 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. [1913 Webster] That sin or guilt pertains exclusively to voluntary action is the true principle of orthodoxy. --N. W. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Our voluntary service he requires. --Milton. [1913 Webster] She fell to lust a voluntary prey. --Pope. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 5. Endowed with the power of willing; as, man is a voluntary agent. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 6. (Law) Free; without compulsion; according to the will, consent, or agreement, of a party; without consideration; gratuitous; without valuable consideration. [1913 Webster] 7. (Eccl.) Of or pertaining to voluntaryism; as, a voluntary church, in distinction from an established or state church. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Syn: See Spontaneous. [1913 Webster]
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.