lawful authority

What the courts would not be able to do is hold that another branch of government has exceeded its lawful authority.

This was an arrangement Cloud had no lawful authority to make.

They replied that the de facto government was not a lawful authority.

If a man is condemned to death, and executed by the lawful authority, they take his body, and cook and eat it.

In spite of his defiance of lawful authority, Russell's name has always been regarded as that of a patriot.

The sole lawful authority in Belgium is that of our King, of the elected representatives of the nation.