What is the relationship between the court system, litigation process, and jurisdiction?

Answer 1

Courts are only allowed to take (to hear) certain cases.
This is defined by their jurisdiction.

Part of jurisdiction is the type of cases they can hear -- that's called subject matter jurisdiction.

Part of jurisdiction is who the court can issue orders to, which is what determines whether the court can render a judgment (civil) or verdict (criminal) -- that's called personal jurisdiction.

Litigation is the process of resolving a dispute (civil) or charges (criminal) in court.

Answer 2

Jurisdiction: the ability of a Court to issue an order over a person or property.

When someone files a claim, or Complaint, going through the litigation process, he must first determine where to file, or the "venue" of the filing. The Complaint must be filed in a Court (system) that would have jurisdiction over the matters alleged in the Complaint.