Competent authority
Black's Law Dictionary · Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
Black's Law Dictionary
As applied to courts and public officers, this term imports jurisdiction and due legal authority to deal with the particular matter in question.
Mitchel v. U. S., 9 Pet. 735, 9 L. Ed. 283; Charles v. Charles, 41 Minn. 201, 42 N. W. 935