Legalsy

stem

Thisref
erstoapr ocedur
eorprocessfori
nter
pret
ingandenfor
cingthel
aw.
I
telaboratestheri
ghtobli
gat
ionofit
sciti
zensinvar
iousofways.Ther
eare
thr
eemaj orlegal
system i
ntheworldandtheyconst
itut
e:

1)ci
vi
ll
aw

2)Commonl
aw

3)Rel
i
giousl
aw

Indi fferentsoci eties,t heremustexi stlawsr ulesandr egulati

onswhi ch
for m asy st
em ofenf or cementandsanct i
ons,puti nplacef orhuman
coexi stence dev oid of conf li
ct,t hereby ensur i
ng a safe and sane
soci ety.This sy stem means t he law cour t
,per sonneloft he l aw and
admi nistr
at i
onofj usticei nagi vencount ryorstate,Ni
geri
ainclusive.There
aref oursy stems; Englishl aw,customar y,commonl awandshar i
al aw.The
Ni gerianl egalsy st em i sbasedont heEngl i
shcommonl aw andl egal
traditionbyv ir
tueofcol onizat
ionandi ncepti
onofEngl i
shlaw.Sect ion451
oft hei nterpretationactpr ovi
dest hatthecommonl awofEngl andandt he
SOGAenf orcedi nEngl andon1stJanuar y1900ar eappli
cablei nNi geri
a
onl yinsof arasl ocal circumst ancesshal lpermit
.

Nat
ureandchar
act
eri
sti
csofl
aws

Whati
slaw?

Thereisnouniver
salaccept
eddefini
ti
onofl aw.However
,law simplyput
,
consist
sofbodyofrules,r
egul
ati
onsf orhumanconductwhi chensuresa
standar
dofbehavi
orforacri
me,confl
ictfr
eeandorderl
ysociety.

Law af f
ectsev eryaspectofourl i
ves,i
tgov er
nsourconductf rom the
cradletothegrav eanditsinfl
uencesevenextendsfrom bef
oreourbirt
hto
afterourdeath.Inessence,Thelawisasetofr uleenfor
ceabl
ebythecourt
whi chregul
atest hegovernmentoft hestat
eandgov er
nstherel
ationshi
p
betweent hestateanditsciti
zens.

Pr
of.Har
tin hi
s wor
kti
tl
ed '
the conceptofl
aw'
,"t
hatf
orquest
ions
concer
ning human society.Ihav e bei
ng asked with persi
stence and
answered byseri
oust hinkersin so manydiffer
ent,strai
ghtand ev en
peri
odi
calwaysastothequest ionwhatisl
aw".ForHart,
thereisadi f
fi
cult
y
i
nanswer i
ngthequest
ionsf orwhathecall
s'pr
e-occur
ingissues'
;

i
)Rel
ati
onshi
pbet
weenl
awsandmor
ali
ty.

i
i
)Rel
ati
onshi
pbet
weenl
awandr
ules.

i
i
i)Rel
ati
onshi
pbet
weenl
awandcoer
civ
erul
es.

Harthashowev er,def
inedlaw ast hecombinati
onofpr i
mar yrul
esof
obli
gati
onandsecondar yrul
esofr ecogni
ti
on,anotherScholarTHERING
defi
neslaw astheform orguar
anteef ort
hecondit
ionofl i
feandsociet
y
assuredbystat
epowerofconst rai
n,Hesay s"Law i
sameanst oanend
andlawistoserveit
spurposewhichissoci
alandnotindi
vidual.

DeanRoscoePounddef ineslaw asasoci alinst

it
uti
ontosat
isfysoci
al
want.Hesayslaw isatoolforsoci
alengi
neeringwhichmeanslaw i
san
i
nstr
umenttobalancecompetingandconfl
i
ctingint
erest
s

Accor dingtoBlackstone,Law i
nmostgener alandcompr ehensi
vesense,
signifi
esar uleofactionwhichispr escri
bedbysomesuper i
orandwhi ch
thei nferi
orisboundt oobey.Itist her
efore,impor t
anttonot ethatthe
featuresofobl i
gat
ionandsanct i
onf orcontraventionareessenti
alforany
setofr ulestoqual
ifyaslaw.Thus,thesocialreferenceorapprovalorgood
andbadconduct sremai nmoralrul
es, i
ftherelevantconductaredevoidof
thesef eatur
es.

Char
act
eri
sti
csofl
aw

1)I
tisabodyofr
ulessucht
hat
,itmustbewr
it
ten.

2)I
tismanmade.

3)I
tisnor
mat
ivei
nchar
act
er.

4)I
thasanel
ementofcoer
cion.

5)I
tisdy
nami
cinnat
ure.
6)I
thast
err
it
ori
all
i
mit
ati
on.

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofl
aw.

The etymologi
calmeaning ofclassi
fi
cati
on I sthe process ofput
ting
somethingintocat
egor
yort hebasiccogniti
vepr ocessofarrangi
nginto
cl
ass orcat egori
es f
ora pr operand l ogicalar r
angi
ng of law,its
cl
assif
icat
ionbecomeneccessar
y,lawsareclassif
iedint
o

1)I
nter
nat
ional
andmuni
cipall
aw

I
nter
nat
ionall
aw:

Intimesback,manyj ur
istswer eoft hev iew thati nternationallawswer e
notlawsi tsel
fbecausei tlackmanyel ement swhi chl awshoul dhav e.The
l
egalpr ocess thatconcer ns l egalr elat
ions among nat ions is cal led
i
nternat i
onallaw.I
ti sthelawbet weent woormor ecount ries.Int
er national
l
aw bi nds respective states and r egulates mut ualcoexi st
ence and
rel
ationship. Sources of i nternati
onall aw i ncludes m;I nt
er national
customar ytreati
es,Bi l
ater
alagr eementandconv ent i
ons.I tdealsmai nly
wit
hcount ri
es,UN i soneoft hepr i
mar ymechani sm t hatcr eat esand
art
iculateinternat
ionallaw.Accor dingt osomej ur i
sts,int er
nationall aw
may be di vi
ded i nto 2 pl aces,Publ ici nter
nat i
onall aw and pr ivate
i
nternat i
onall
aw.

Publ
ici
nter
nat
ionall
aw:

I
ti sthebodyofr ul
eswhi chgov ernsther el
ati
onshipbet
weenst at
esand
otherst ates.Thisincl
udes conv enti
ons,t reat
ies,laws whi
ch regul
ate
relati
onship among sovereign states i.
e mat t
ers oftr
ade,postaland
telecommuni cat
ions,aviati
on,l aw of sea i ncludi
ng mari
time laws,
diplomaticrel
ati
onsamongsov erei
gnst ate.

Pr
ivat
eint
ernat
ionall
aw:

They'r
emostt i
mesrefer
redtoasconfl
i
ctoflaws.I
tisasyst
em oflaw
whichr egul
atesmatt
ersthatpossessf
orei
gnelement
sbet
weenpriv
ate
person.Forexample,ifacontr
actismadebetweenaJamaicananda
Nigerianandi t'
st obeper for
m.Ther ul
esandpr i
nciplesinwhichther i
ght
andliabili
ti
esofpar ti
est obedet er
minedar eundert heumbr el
laofprivate
i
nternationall aws.I nessence,i tregulat
est heconductofper sonsi na
parti
cularstat ei nr el
ationtol awsofper sonst oanot herstat
ewi thout
necessar i
lyr evolving t he soverei
gntyoft he part
icularstat
e.Basically
,
Pri
vatei nter
nat ionall awsappl i
est oindiv
idualciti
zensandnotst ate.Itis
enforcedbymuni cipalcour t
swhi chadmi nist
ermuni cipalmunici
pallaws
andnoti nternational l
aws.

Muni
cipall
aws:

Theyar elawst hatemanat esf rom apar t

icul
arcountryandhav ef or ce
withinitsterri
tory.Inessence,i tisthelawofagi vennation.Lawcov ersa
widev ariet
yofmat tersandpl acesasi gni
fi
cantrolei
nthesoci et
y.Itshoul d
benot edt hattherei snosi mpleoruni ver
salmodeofcl assif
yingmuni cipal
l
aws.Howev er,i
tmaybecl assifi
edas;commonl awandequi ty,publi
cand
pri
v at
e,ci v
ilandcr i
mi nal.Thesedi f
ferentcl
assesoflawhav etheirunique
features,yettheyov erl
ap.Ther efor
e,themaj orcl
assi
fi
cat i
onofmuni cipal
l
awsar esubst ant i
veandpr ocedurallaw,wr i
tt
enandunwr it
tenlawsand
theone' swr i
tt
enabov e.

Publ
icl
aw

Publi
claw deal
swi t
hr elat
ionsbet weeni ndiv
idualsandst at
es.Thi
sl aw
i
nvolvesst
ateofgovernanceini t
sr el
ationshi
pwi t
hitscit
izensori
tappli
es
tothegeneralpubl
i
c.I tisconcernedwi ththestruct
ureandor gani
zati
on
wit
hinitsst
atesandci ti
zens,theirri
ght sandobl i
gati
onst ooneanother.
Therearet
hreemaintypesofl awt hatfalli
ntothi
scategory:

1)Const
itut
ionall
aw:Thi
scontrol
showgov er
nmentoper
atesandi
t'
sused
tor
esolv
eanydi sput
eoverconsti
tut
ional
Matt
ers.

2)Admi nist
rat
ivelaw:Thiscont r
olshow mini
stri
esofst at
eandpublic
bodies should operate and make decisi
ons.An i mport
ant par
t of
admi ni
str
ati
velawist hat
,ther
e'satypeofcourtact
ionknownasJudici
al
rev
iew.
3)Cri
minallaw:Thi
sf al
l
sunderthi
scategorybecausei
tinv
olv
esthestat
e,
i
tisapar tofpubli
clawbecauseacrimei sregar
dedasanactionagai
nst
thest
ate.Seesecti
on14(2)bofthe1999CFRN.

Pr
ivat
elaw

Priv
at elaw regul
atest herelat
ionship between indivi
dual
sorwi t
h one
anotherorpr i
vat
er el
at i
ons wit
hj uri
stic persons.Itist he l
aw which
regulatestheconductofpersonsint heiri
nterpersonaldeal
ingsconfer
ri
ng
statutes,r
ight
sandobligati
onsoni ndi
vidual
sorj uri
sti
cpersons.

Exampl
esofpr
ivat
elaw

1)l
awofcont
ract

2)Fami
l
ylaw

3)Lawoft
ort

4)l
awoft
rustandpr
oper
ty.

Itisi mportantt onotethatsituat

ionswher eelement sorcasesoft hi
s
classesofl awar efoundinoneanot her.Forexample,Asi ngl
esetoffact
mayconst i
tuteat or
tofbatter
y,oracrimeorassaul t
.Forexampl e,Where
Phill
iplandsMar kZuckerbergaslap(enof i
tsha),t
hisacti
onconstit
utetor
t
ofbat ter
yoracr imeofassaul t
.Howev er,i
tisthepr ocedureadoptedto
remedyt hebr eachthatwil
ldeci
detheclassifi
cat
ionofPhill
ip'
sacti
on.

Ci
vi
landCr
imi
nall
aw

Civi
llawisasy st
em ofl awconcer nedwiththepr i
vaterelati
onsofci t
izens
andisnotpunishablebyt hestate.Civi
ll
awdef i
nestherightsanddut i
esof
onepersonortheot herandi tprovi
desasy stem ofremedi es.I
trecognizes
thatapersonadv er
selyaf f
ectedint hecomi ssi
onofcer tainactisabl eto
obtai
n compensat i
on orr edress on the per son responsiblef ort he
l
oss/inj
urysuf
feredorr estr
aini
ngf ur
theracts.

Inessence,i
tisconcer
nedwit
hdisput
eswithi
ncit
izenswit
hpurposeto
enabl
e people enf
orce t
hei
rr i
ght
st o seek r
edress agai
nst i
njur
y,
i
nfr
ingementandt
orecov
erpr
oper
ty.Seesect
ion46(
i)-1999CFRN

Cr
imi
nall
aw

Thisdealswit
hactsoromissionwhicharecontrar
ytopublicor
derandthe
society as a whole.Cri
minallaw def i
nes offences and pr
escr
ibes
punishmentfort hem.Its aim i
st he preventi
on and puni
shmentof
off
enders.Cri
minall
awisthelawthatdeal
swithcrime.Acrimeisanactor
omissionpuni
shablebyt
hest at
e.

Criminallaw encour
agest he enforcementofr ulesofconductusual ly
Statutoryi
nfr
ingementofwhi chwi l
lmakesuchi nfr
ingementpunishabl
e.
Themai nobjecti
veofcr i
minallaw ist hepunishmentofwr ongdoers,
therebyseeki
ngt oprot
ectthecollecti
veinint
erestoft heci
ti
zensagainst
thedet r
iment
alconductofothermember s.

InNiger
ia,cr
iminall
awiscodif
iedi
ntocr
imi
nalcodeandpenalcode.Under
cri
minallaw,of
fenceswi
llbecl
assi
fi
ed:

1)Of
fencesagai
nstt
heper
son.

2)of
fencesagai
nstpr
oper
ty.

3)Of
fenceagai
nstt
hest
ate.

I
tcan also be cl
assi
fi
ed as f
eloni
es,mi
sdemeanor
s,si
mpl
e of
fences,
i
ndi
ctabl
eandnoni ndi
ctabl
eof
fences.

Anof
fencei
sdef
inedundersect
ion2oft
hecr
imi
nalcodeAsanactof
omi
ssi
on whi
ch r
ender
sthe per
son'
s maki
ng t
he omi
ssi
on Li
abl
eto
puni
shmentundert
hecodeoranyot
heractorl
aw.

Anactmaybeacr
imeaswel
lasaci
vi
lwr
ong.Exampl
e,amanwhoasa
r
esul
tofnegl
i
gentdr
ivi
ng,knockeddownapedest
ri
anwal
ki
ngal
ongt
he
r
oad,
hasdoneanactwhi
chmayconst
it
uteacr
imeaswel
lasaci
vi
lwr
ong.
Ther
ear
enumberofdi
ff
erencesbet
weencr
imi
nal
lawandci
vi
ll
aw.
1)t
heobj
ect
iveofeachl
awi
sdi
ff
erent
.Cr
imi
nal
proceedi
ngsi
stomai
ntai
n
l
aw and or
derand t
o pr
otectt
he soci
ety
.On t
he ot
herhand,ci
vi
l
pr
oceedi
ngsi
sbr
oughtt
ouphol
dther
ight
sofi
ndi
vi
dual
sandt
opr
ovi
de
r
edr
essandcompensat
ion.Sect
ion46(
1)of1999CFRN.

2)I
ttakespl
acei
ndi
ff
erentcour
ts.

3)cr
imi
nal
proceedi
ngsar
ebr
oughtbyt
hest
ate,
whi
l
eci
vi
lpr
oceedi
ngsar
e
i
nst
it
uted by i
ndi
vi
dual
s,compani
es and cor
por
ati
ons t
hrough t
he
machi
ner
yoft
hest
ate(
cour
ts)
.

4)Thest
andar
dofpr
oofi
sdi
ff
erentundercr
imi
nalpr
oceedi
ngs,i
tispr
oof
bey
ond r
easonabl
e doubt
,whi
l
ein ci
vi
lpr
oceedi
ngs,i
t'
s pr
oofon t
he
pr
eponder
anceofev
idenceort
hebal
anceofpr
obabi
l
iti
es.Seesect
ion
134(
Evi
denceact
).

5)I
ncr
imi
nalpr
oceedi
ngs,t
henomi
nalcompl
ainanti
sthest
atet
hrougha
pr
osecut
orwhi
l
einci
vi
lpr
oceedi
ngs, t
henomi
nalcompl
ainanti
sthe
cl
aimant
.

LegalTer
minol
ogy

Thesear
eter
msusedwi
thpar
ti
cul
arappl
i
cat
ionst
othel
egalpr
ofessi
on.
Lear
ningt
hel
anguageoft
hel
awi
ssi
mil
ari
nsomeway
sinl
ear
ninganew
l
anguage.Atf
ir
st,
manywor
dsandphr
asesmaysounddi
ff
icul
tordi
ff
erent
t
omemor
ize.I
tisnev
ert
hel
essessent
ialt
ounder
standt
hei
rmeani
ngsand
usagei
nor
dert
ocar
ryoutt
hemostbasi
clegalf
unct
ion.amor
esubt
le
di
ff
icul
tyl
i
esi
nlear
ningnew way
stousef
ami
l
iarwor
dsandphr
ases,f
or
exampl
e,i
nlegalt
erms,t
hewor
d"cour
t"seemsnotonl
ytor
efert
othe
j
udi
cialbr
anchofgov
ernmentorapl
acewher
elegaldi
sput
esar
edeci
ded,
t
het
ermi
susedqui
tecommonl
ytor
efert
oapar
ti
cul
arj
udgeandr
elat
ed
admi
nist
rat
iveper
sonneli
nvol
vedi
ndeci
dingpar
ti
cul
armat
ter
s.Fami
l
iar
wor
ds mayt
ake up new meani
ngs i
nthe l
egalpr
ofessi
on,Howev
er,
whet
hert
hewor
dsar
efami
l
iarornot
,legalTer
minol
ogymustbeused
pr
eci
sel
y,ot
her
wise,
wor
dsmaybeof
tenmi
si
nter
pret
ed.

LegalTer
minol
ogyi
sbr
oad asi
tsubj
ect
ivel
ycutacr
osst
hedi
ff
erent
cl
assesofl
aw,t
hati
s,undercr
imi
nall
aw,l
egalTer
minol
ogyused i
s
di
ff
erentf
rom t
hatusedunderci
vi
ll
aw,
proper
tyl
awet
c.

Subheadi
ng_l
egal
ter
msandEngl
i
sht
erms.

ManycommonEngl
i
shwor
dsandphr
asest
akeupadi
ff
erentshapeof
meani
ngt
hant
heor
dinar
yusage.Exampl
e,

I
njur
y>I
njur
yor
dinar
il
yref
ert
osomesor
tofphy
sicalhar
m donet
othe
body
,whi
l
einl
egalusage.I
njur
yhasabr
oadermeani
ng.I
tmeansan
i
nfr
ingementofl
egal
right
sthatadv
ersel
yaf
fect
saper
son'
sbody
,pr
oper
ty,
r
eput
ati
on,l
oss,
har
m orhur
tthatr
esul
tsi
ntodamages.

Subt
opi
c>Lat
inandt
heLaw

Moder
nlegal
pract
icesnowknownt
othewest
ernwor
ldmai
nlyev
olv
efr
om
t
hepr
act
iceandpr
ecedentest
abl
i
shedi
nanci
entRome,ast
her
ootof
moder
nlawcanbet
racedbackt
otheRomanday
s.Lat
inwast
hecommon
l
anguageoft
heRomanl
egi
slat
orsandmanyofRomanl
egi
sl
ati
onsand
manyofi
tsconceptwer
ehandeddownf
rom r
omanl
aw maker
sar
est
il
l
expr
essedt
il
ldat
e.Exampl
e,
1)abi
nit
io(
from t
hebegi
nni
ng)
,

2)act
ionsi
mper
sonal
(Per
sonal
act
ion)
,

3)Adcur
iam>bef
oreacour
t

4)ami
>sui
tbef
oreacour
t(Googl
epl
s)

5)Al
i
bi>el
sewher
e

6)Ami
cusCur
iae>f
ri
endoft
hecour
t

7)Bonaf
ide>I
ngoodf
ait
h

8)cav
eatempt
or>buy
erbewar
e

9)Cor
pus>Body

10)Denov
o>t
ost
artaf
resh

11)Nonestf
act
um >nothi
sdeed.

12)Mensr
ea>gui
l
tymi
nd

13)Nol
l
epr
osequi
>unwi
l
li
ngt
opr
osecut
e

14)not
onbosment
is>notofsoundmi
nd

15)Obi
terdi
ctum >byt
heway

16)Onuspr
obandi
>bodyofpr
oof

17)Par
ipasu>equal
progr
ess

18)Pr
obono>f
reeofchar
ge

19)Qui
tpr
oquo>somet
hingf
orsomet
hing
LegalTer
minol
ogyunderci
vi
lncr
imi
nall
aw.

As been di
scussed i
n pr
evi
ous l
essons,t
hatcr
imi
naln ci
vi
lar
etwo
opposi
tecl
assesofl
awsoal
soar
etheTer
minol
ogi
esused.

Subheadi
ng-LegalTer
minol
ogyundercr
imi
nall
aw.

Pr
osecut
or>aper
sonwhoi
nst
it
utescr
imi
nal
proceedi
ngs.

Accused/
def
endant> A per
son agai
nstwho t
he char
ge ofcr
imi
nal
pr
oceedi
ngsi
sbr
ought
.

Of
fense: A cont
rav
ent
ionoft
hel
aw uponwhi
chanaccusedper
soni
s
char
ged.

Char
ge>A wr
it
tencompl
aintagai
nstanal
l
egedof
fender
,accusedor
def
endant
.

Pl
ea>Answergi
venbyaccusedt
oachar
gebr
oughtbef
orehi
m.

Acqui
tt
al>af
indi
ngofnotgui
l
ty,
thi
saf
fi
rmst
hepr
esumpt
ionofi
nnocence
ofaper
sonchar
gedwi
thacr
ime.

Accessor
ybef
oret
hef
act
s>A per
sonwhoknowi
ngl
y orunknowi
ngl
y
assi
stsanot
herper
soni
nthecomi
ssi
onofcr
ime.Theper
sonmaybe
pr
esentornotpr
esentatt
het
imeofcomi
ssi
onofcr
ime

Accessor
ytoacr
ime>aper
soni
nvol
vedi
nthepr
ioractofacr
imebutnot
pr
esentdur
ingcomi
ssi
on.

Accompl
i
ce>Aper
sonwhohel
panot
herper
sonknownast
hepr
inci
palt
o
commi
t a cr
ime. An accompani
st i
s al
way
s pr
esence dur
ing t
he
commi
ssi
onoft
hecr
ime.

Ar
rai
gnment
:Theappear
anceoft
heaccusedt
otakei
tspl
ea.

Homi
ci
de>t
heunl
awf
ulki
l
li
ngofoneper
sonbyanot
herper
son.

Conf
essi
on>A suspectacknowl
edgmentofgui
l
tusual
l
yinwr
it
ing, i
n
essencei
t'
saconf
essi
onalst
atement
.Seesect
ion15(
2)ofadmi
nist
rat
ion
ofcr
imi
nal
just
iceact
.

Bai
lBond:Moneyorpr
oper
tygi
vent
ocour
tassecur
it
ywhenanaccusedi
s
r
eleasedbef
oreordur
ingt
ri
alwi
tht
heagr
eementt
hatt
heaccusedwi
l
l
r
etur
ntocour
twhenor
der
ed.Bai
lbondwi
l
lbef
orf
eit
edi
ftheaccused
f
ail
edt
oret
urn.

Benchwar
rant
:Anor
deri
ssuedbyaj
udgef
ort
hear
restofanaccused
per
sonwhohasj
umpedbai
l
.

Bey
ondr
easonabl
edoubt
:st
andar
dofpr
ooff
orcr
imi
nal
proceedi
ngs.

Coer
cion>t
he use ofphy
sicalf
orce ort
hreatt
o compelsomeone t
o
commi
tanactagai
nsthi
s/her

Sent
ence>Puni
shmentor
der
edbyacour
tonadef
endantconv
ict
edofa
cr
ime

Concur
rentsent
ences> These ar
e Sent
ences f
ordi
ff
erentcr
imes or
of
fensest
hatar
eser
vedatt
hesamet
ime.

Consecut
ivesent
ence:sent
encest
hatar
esuccessi
veorascendoneaf
ter
t
heot
her
.
Cr
imi
nalsummoni
ng:anor
dercommandi
nganaccusedt
oappearbef
ore
t
hecour
t.

Cr
ossexami
nat
ion:
quest
ioni
ngofawi
tnesspr
oducedbyt
hest
ate.

Cust
ody>Det
aini
ngofaper
sonbyal
awf
ulpr
ocessoraut
hor
it
ytoensur
e
t
heappear
anceoft
hedet
aineebef
oret
hecour
t.

Exhi
bit
:adocumentori
tem i
ntr
oducedasev
idencedur
ingt
ri
al.

Mot
ion>Anappl
i
cat
ionmadet
oaj
udgeorf
ort
hegr
antofset
ti
ngpr
ayer
s
orr
eli
efs.Ther
ear
etwot
ypesofmot
ion,mot
iononnot
iceormot
ionex
par
te.

Pl
eaBar
gai
n:Anegot
iat
ionbet
weent
hedef
enseandpr
osecut
ionf
oraf
air
deposi
ti
onoft
hecase.

I
nadmi
ssi
ble:t
hatwhi
chundert
her
uleofev
idencecannotbeadmi
tt
edor
r
ecei
vedasev
idence.

Subheadi
ng-
-Ter
minol
ogyunderci
vi
llaw

1)cl
aimant
:Aper
sonwhoi
nst
it
utesanact
ioni
nci
vi
lpr
oceedi
ngs

2)Def
endant
:Thi
sisaper
sonagai
nstwhom aci
vi
lact
ioni
sbr
ought
.

3)Pet
it
ioner
:Aper
sonwhoi
nst
it
utesanact
ion(apet
it
ion)
.

4)Respondent
:Aper
sonwhoi
sapar
tyt
oaPet
it
ioner
.

5)Recor
d:of
fici
alwor
dofwordcopyt
ocour
tproceedi
ngsfr
om i
ncept
ion
toj
udgement
.Thisi
susual
l
ycompi
ledf
ort
hepur
poseofappeal
.

6)Bai
l
iff
:Anof
fi
cial
cour
tat
tendantwhosedut
yist
oser
vepr
ocesses.
7)Causeofact
ion:
Alegal
groundonwhi
chacl
aimanti
nst
it
utesanact
ion.

8)Contemptofcourt:Anyactcal cul
ated to embarrass,under
mineor
obst
ructthe cour
tproceedi
ngs oradmi ni
str
ation ofjusti
ce.Cont
empt
coul
dbeinfaci
eorexf
acie.

9)Aforement
ioned:descr
ibi
ng somet
hing whi
ch has been r
efer
red t
o
bef
ore,
adocument .

10)Act
ion:
Lawsui
tbr
oughtbyt
hecl
aimant
.

11)Audi
Alt
erm par
ti
em:
heart
heot
hersi
de(
pri
nci
pleoff
airhear
ing)
.

12)Act
ionabl
e:Capabl
eofbei
ngacauseofact
ion.

13)Li
abl
eornotl
i
abl
e:Answerbyt
hedef
endantt
othecl
aim ofacl
aimant
.

14)Motions:Anappl
i
cat
ionbr
oughtt
ocour
tuponwhi
char
eli
eforpr
ayer
s
aresought.

15)Deposi
ti
on/st
atementofOat
h:I
t'
sawr
it
tent
est
imonyunderoat
h.

16)Affi
davi
t:Awrit
tendocumentt
hatcont
ainst
heposi
ti
onof aper
son
swear
ingtoanaff
idavi
t.

17)Br
eachofcont
ract
:Anonper
for
manceofacont
ract
ual
obl
i
gat
ion.

18)Gi
ft
:Agr
atui
tousassi
gnment

19)St
atusquo:Aconditi
oninwhi
chat
hingorper
sonst
ood,i
t'
ssi
mpl
y
ref
ert
oastheori
ginal
stat
e.

20)Depose:
Tot
est
if
yunderoat
h,t
hati
s,deposet
oanaf
fi
dav
it.

21)Di
l
igence:
Areasonabl
ecar
eorat
tent
iont
oamat
terunderpr
osecut
ion.

22)I nj
unct
ion:A j
udici
alorderrest
raini
ng a person from bri
ngi
ng or
conti
nuinganact
ionthatt
hreat
ensthelegalri
ghtofanotherort
ocompela
personcarryi
ngoutacer t
ainact
.Ani njunct
ionisal egalandequitabl
e
remedy.
23)Wr i
tofsummons:A formaldocumentaddressedt ot hedefendant
requi
ri
nghimtoent
eranappearanceifhewishestodisputetheclai
mant
clai
m.Itappl
i
estociv
ilact
ioni
nvolvi
ngsubstant
ialdi
sputes,cont
entious
i
ssuesorfact
s.

24)Origi
nati
ngsummons:Acti
onscommencedbyor i
ginat
ingsummons
areacti
onsrequir
edbyl
aworstat
ute,whent hedi
sput
econtestmatt
ersof
l
aw, whenther
e'sunl
i
kel
ytobeanysubstant
ialdi
sput
es.

25)Subpoena:Thedocument sservedonawitnessr
equi
ri
nghi
mtoattend
tr
ialtogiveoralevidenceorproduceadocument.Awit
nesswhofai
lsto
appearwillbearrestedandbroughttocour
tifabenchwarr
anti
sissued
againsthi
m.