A party is an
individual
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
or group of individuals that compose a single
entity
An entity is something that exists as itself, as a subject or as an object, actually or potentially, concretely or abstractly, physically or not. It need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually ...
which can be identified as one for the purposes of the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
.
Parties include:
*
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
(person filing suit),
*
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...
(person sued or charged with a crime),
*
petitioner {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
A petitioner is a person who pleads with governmental institution for a legal remedy or a redress of grievances, through use of a petition.
In the courts
The petitioner may seek a legal remedy if the state or ano ...
(files a petition asking for a court ruling),
*
respondent
{{unreferenced, date=February 2012
A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning.
Legal usage
In ...
(usually in opposition to a petition or an appeal),
* cross-complainant (a defendant who sues someone else in the same lawsuit), or
* cross-defendant (a person sued by a cross-complainant).
A person who only appears in the case as a
witness
In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
is not considered a party.
Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in civil
litigation
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
, or, in older American cases, the ''party of the first part''; and the party against whom the case was brought as the
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...
, or, in older American cases, the ''party of the second part''. In a criminal case in Nigeria and some other countries the parties are called prosecutor and defendant.
See also
* ''
Erga omnes''
* ''
Ex parte
In law, ''ex parte'' () is a Latin term meaning literally "from/out of the party/faction of" (name of party/faction, often omitted), thus signifying "on behalf of (name)". An ''ex parte'' decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all ...
''
proceeding
In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings is a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the conferen ...
* ''
'' proceeding
*
Intervention (law)
In law, intervention is a procedure to allow a nonparty, called intervenor (also spelled intervener) to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original litigants. The ...
References
Legal terminology
Law
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