Exclusive jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to be the only one that can hear a particular type of case. For example, if a federal court has exclusive jurisdiction over a specific issue, such as bankruptcy cases, then no other court can hear cases related to that issue.
On the other hand, concurrent jurisdiction exists when two or more courts have the authority to hear the same type of case. For instance, both state and federal courts might have the ability to hear cases involving diversity of citizenship, which means that a legal dispute can be brought in either court system. This allows plaintiffs to choose where to file their cases based on various factors, such as perceived advantages in one court over the other.
In summary, the key difference lies in exclusivity: exclusive jurisdiction means only one court can hear a case, whereas concurrent jurisdiction allows multiple courts to have the authority to hear the same case.