A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or they may function as ordinary federated units (e.g., Brazil, Russia). Federal districts often include capital districts.
The Federal District (Portuguese : Distrito Federal) contains the Brazilian capital Brasília.
In India, the term "Union Territory" is used for the eight territories governed directly by the Union government (also called central government), administered by a Lieutenant Governor or an Administrator: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Of these, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry possess self-government with their own elected legislatures and Chief Ministers.
In Malaysia, the term Federal Territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) is used for the three territories governed directly by the federal government: Kuala Lumpur (national capital), Putrajaya (federal government administrative centre) and Labuan (international offshore financial centre).
The Federal Capital Territory is a federal territory in central Nigeria. Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, is located in this territory. The Federal Capital Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of the states of Nasarawa, Niger and Kogi. It is within the Middle Belt region of the country. It is administered by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, headed by a minister appointed by the President.
In Pakistan, the term Federal Territory is used for the five zones and 12 union councils of Islamabad governed directly by the state government as Islamabad Capital Territory.
Russia has three cities of federal importance, established by the Constitution — Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sevastopol (internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, administered by Russia). Each city is treated as a separate federal subject and has its own legislative body. Russia has federal districts, but these form an additional administrative layer between the federation government and the federal subjects rather than being a distinct type of jurisdiction.
The seat of the U.S. federal government in Washington is located in a federal district called the District of Columbia. Other federally administered areas that are within one of the 50 states, but not under its jurisdiction, are called federal enclaves.
Additionally, the U.S. federal court system divides each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico into one or more federal judicial districts. A United States district court and a bankruptcy court are located in each. There are also regional federal judicial circuits, each consisting of a group of states (except for the District of Columbia Circuit, which consists of the federal district, and the Federal Circuit, whose jurisdiction is based on specific subject matter instead of geography); Puerto Rico and the United States territorial courts are also assigned to circuits. Each circuit has a United States court of appeals.
Capital District (Venezuela), where the Venezuelan capital Caracas is located.
Federal District (Argentina) was converted into the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires in 1994.
The Jervis Bay Territory is an internal territory of the Commonwealth of Australia, surrendered by the state of New South Wales in 1915 to the Commonwealth Government [1] [2] so that the landlocked Australian Capital Territory would have maritime access. [3] Due to the terms of the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act, the laws of the ACT apply to the Jervis Bay Territory, [4] and it was administered by the Department of the Interior (and later by the Department of the Capital Territory) as if it were part of the Australian Capital Territory, although it has always been a separate Commonwealth territory. In 1989, when the ACT achieved self-government, the Department of the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories took over responsibility for the JBT's administration, and it has since been administered by various Commonwealth departments responsible to the Minister for Territories.
Former Federal District (Mexico), was converted into Mexico City in January 2016.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a federal territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, and serves as the territory's primate city. It is located in southeastern Australian mainland as an enclave completely within the state of New South Wales. Founded after Federation as the seat of government for the new nation, the territory hosts the headquarters of all important institutions of the Australian Government.
The Jervis Bay Territory is an internal territory of Australia. It was established in 1915, from a part of New South Wales (NSW), in order to give the landlocked Australian Capital Territory (ACT) access to the sea.
Jervis Bay is a 102-square-kilometre (39 sq mi) oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. In the Dhurga language of the Aboriginal inhabitants of the area, it is called Booderee, which translates as "bay of plenty".
The title Administrator of the government (Administrator) has several uses in Australia.
Law enforcement in Australia is one of the three major components of the country's justice system, along with courts and corrections. Law enforcement officers are employed by all three levels of government – federal, state/territory, and local.
A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any political or economic advantage relative to the others because of the national capital lying within its borders. A capital territory can be a specific form of federal district.
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law.
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters.
Federalism was adopted, as a constitutional principle, in Australia on 1 January 1901 – the date upon which the six self-governing Australian Colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia federated, formally constituting the Commonwealth of Australia. It remains a federation of those six original States under the Constitution of Australia.
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constitute the federation itself and share sovereignty with the federal government, while a territory does not have sovereign status and is constitutionally dependent on the federal government.
The history of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as a separate administrative division began in 1911, when it was transferred from New South Wales to the Australian federal government. The territory contains Australia's capital city Canberra and various smaller settlements. Until 1989, it also administered the Jervis Bay Territory, a small coastal region.
The Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 is an Australian Commonwealth Government act, that in conjunction with the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909 transferred land from the state of New South Wales to the Commonwealth for the creation of the Federal Capital Territory.
The Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which followed the New South Wales Seat of Government Surrender Act 1915. The Act created the Territory of Jervis Bay, subject to the laws of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). While the Act's use of the language of "annexed" is sometimes interpreted as implying that the Jervis Bay Territory was to form part of the Federal Capital Territory, the accepted legal position is that it has been a legally distinct territory from its creation, despite being subject to FCT/ACT law and being administratively treated as part of the FCT/ACT.
The Seat of Government Surrender Act 1915 was an Act of the New South Wales Parliament transferring land from New South Wales to establish the Jervis Bay Territory as part of the Federal Capital Territory. The Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915 was the corresponding Commonwealth Act accepting the transfer of land.
The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. They have their own constitutions, legislatures, executive governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government.
The first colonies of the British Empire on the continent of Australia were the penal colony of New South Wales, founded in 1788, and the Swan River Colony, founded in 1829. Over the next few decades, the colonies of New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and Victoria were created from New South Wales, as well as an aborted Colony of North Australia. On 1 January 1901, these colonies, excepting New Zealand, became states in the Commonwealth of Australia. Since federation, the internal borders have remained mostly stable, except for the creation of some territories with limited self-government: the Northern Territory from South Australia, to govern the vast, sparsely populated centre of the country; the split of the Northern Territory into Central Australia and North Australia, and then the quick merger of those back into the Northern Territory; and the Australian Capital Territory, a federal district ceded from New South Wales.
The Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is a local government area which manages local affairs on the Australian external territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The island is grouped with Western Australia but is administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities and an Administrator.
St Vincent County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It included the south coast area encompassing Batemans Bay, Ulladulla, Jervis Bay and inland to Braidwood. The Shoalhaven River is the boundary to the north and west, and the Deua River the boundary to the south.
The Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory is a court of summary jurisdiction that deals with the majority of criminal law matters and the majority of small civil law matters in the Australian Capital Territory, the Jervis Bay Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory.
The Parish of Bherwerre is a parish of the County of St Vincent in New South Wales which formerly included the area that is now the Jervis Bay Territory, which was transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia in 1915. Because of this, the parish is now less than half the size it was in the nineteenth century. The Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act of 1915 mentions that 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) of the parish were transferred to the Commonwealth. The Seat of Government Acceptance Act of 1909 mentions that three separate parcels in the parish were planned to be transferred to the Commonwealth from Bherwerre, along with land in other nearby parishes, although the actual land transfer in 1915 was only made up of land in the Parish of Bherwerre. The land mentioned in the 1909 act was a 2-square-mile (5.2 km2) portion, a 412-acre (167 ha) portion, and the 132 acres (53 ha) of Bowen Island. At the time, the parish was located in Clyde Shire.