Art. 3 Same; cannot be conferred by consent

Courts only have the power to hear certain types of cases based on what the law allows. This rule says people involved in a lawsuit cannot simply agree to let a court handle a case if that court doesn't already have the legal authority to do so. In other words, both sides saying "yes, let's have this court decide" isn't enough if the law says that court has no business hearing that type of case.

If a court goes ahead and issues a ruling anyway, without having proper authority over the subject matter, that ruling has no legal effect. It's treated as if it never happened. This protects the legal system by making sure cases go to courts that actually have the right to decide them, no matter what the people involved might prefer.