merum imperium

Etymology
Literally “pure power” or “pure authority”.

Noun

 * 1)  The coercive, executive authority of a judge, which cannot be delegated; the right to execute criminal punishments.
 * 2)  Public authority in general; the jurisdiction held and delegated by a sovereign, especially the authority over life and death; sovereignty.

Usage notes
Merum imperium acquired a much more general significance in the Middle Ages than its technical meaning in ancient Roman law, but the latter was recovered by jurists in the Renaissance. In, the term is thus ambiguous.