General

  • Acknowledgement of service

    This must be filed by a defendant if they are unable to file their defence within a specified period or if they wish to dispute the jurisdiction of a...

  • Act

    Act of Parliament - primary legislation enacted by...

  • Action

    Proceedings issued in the County or High Court. (Now known as...

  • Address for Service

    This is where one party will accept the delivery or service of legal...

  • Adjournment

    The temporary suspension of the hearing of a...

  • Adjudication

    Judgment or decision in a...

  • Administrative Court

    Part of the High Court which deals with Judicial...

  • Admissible

    (Evidence) which is allowed to be used in a...

  • Adversarial

    The system of justice used in British courts for trying to get at the truth, based upon argument between two...

  • Advocate

    Someone (generally a Barrister or Solicitor) who represents a party in a Court...

  • Affidavit

    A written statement which is confirmed on oath or by...

  • Affirm

    Alternative to swearing a document on oath to promise that it is...

  • Allocation questionnaire

    This is issued to all parties after a defence has been filed, and is used to decide which track the case will be allocated...

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

    This is the collective term for the ways in which parties can settle civil disputes without the need for a formal court...

  • Appeal

    An application to a higher court for a review of the decision of a lower...

  • Appellant

    Person who instigates an...

  • Applicant

    The person who is bringing the proceedings to...

  • Arbitration

    The process of using an independent third party, agreed by both sides, to settle disputes without going to...

  • Assisted Person

    A party to legal proceedings who is receiving legal...

  • Award

    The amount of damages assessed by a...

  • Bar

    The body to which all Barristers...

  • Barrister

    Legal professionals who have rights of audience before all...

  • Basic Charges

    General charges incurred for legal...

  • Bench Warrant

    A warrant issued by a judge for a defendant who is missing which requires them to be arrested and brought before...

  • Bill of Costs

    A detailed statement of a party's...

  • Bona Fide

    In good...

  • Brief

    Written instructions and history of a case which is sent to a...

  • Burden of Proof

    The standard of proof which must be shown in order to win a...

  • Case Number

    A unique reference number which is allocated to each...

  • Chambers

    Offices used by a barrister. Alternatively, a private Court from which the public are excluded in which a Judge may conduct certain...

  • Chancery Division

    A section of the High Court, divided between Chancery Chambers and Bankruptcy and Companies...

  • Circuit Judge

    Circuit judges must be lawyers who have held a 'right of audience' for at least ten years, and must also have served either part-time as a recorder on criminal cases or full-time as district judges on civil cases before they can be...

  • Civil

    Matters concerning private rights as opposed to offences against the...

  • Claim

    Proceedings issued in the County or High Court. Previously known as an...

  • Claim Form

    Form on which a Claim is issued (previously known as a...

  • Claimant

    Person issuing a Claim (previously known as the...

  • Co-Respondent

    A person joined as a party to...

  • Commissioner of Oaths

    Solicitors authorised by the Lord Chancellor to administer oaths and affirmations to a statement of...

  • Common Law

    Law established by precedent from judicial...

  • Compensation

    Sum of money paid in respect of loss, breakage, hardship, inconvenience or personal...

  • Conciliation

    This is where disputing parties attempt to reach an agreement out of...

  • Concurrent Writ

    This is a duplicate of an original...

  • Conduct Money

    Money paid to a witness in advance of the hearing of a case as compensation for time spent attending...

  • Conjoined Appeal

    This is when appeal claims are joined in...

  • Contempt of Court

    Disobedience or wilful disregard to the judicial...

  • Costs orders

    An order in court proceedings determining who should pay for each party’s...

  • Counsel

    A...

  • Counterclaim

    A claim made by a defendant against a claimant in an...

  • County Court

    Court dealing with civil...

  • Court

    Body with judicial...

  • Court Order

    The recorded decision of a judge, once he has heard and considered the evidence from all parties in the...

  • Court Room

    Place where cases are...

  • Court of Appeal

    The second highest court in the land, after the House of...

  • Court of Protection

    The branch of the High Court with jurisdiction over the estates of people mentally incapable of handling their own financial...

  • Covenant

    A formal agreement or a contract which constitutes an obligation to perform an...

  • Damages

    An amount of money claimed as compensation for physical or material...

  • Declaration

    Court order setting out the rights of a party in the form of a...

  • Decree

    An order of the Court in proceedings commenced by...

  • Deed

    A formal document signed and witnessed or...

  • Default Judgment

    Obtained by the claimant as a result of the failure of a defendant to comply with the requirements of a...

  • Defendant

    The party against whom proceedings are...

  • Deponent

    Person giving evidence by...

  • Deposition

    A statement of evidence written down and sworn on oath or by...

  • Detailed Assessment (of costs)

    Where costs are dealt with by the drawing of a bill of...

  • Determination

    Act of scrutinising a bill of costs in criminal proceedings to see if the work done and amount claimed is...

  • Direct Examination

    The questioning of a witness by the party who called...

  • Directions

    Instructions given by a judge to proceed the case once he has considered the facts presented by the...

  • Disbursement

    Payments made by a solicitor or barrister other than those covered by the Basic...

  • Disclaimer

    A document which denies legal...

  • Disclosure

    Providing information to both the court and to the other...

  • Discontinuance

    Notice given by the Court, on instruction by the claimant, that they no longer wish to proceed with the...

  • Discovery of documents

    Mutual exchange of evidence and all relevant information held by each party relating to the...

  • Dismissal

    To make order or decision that a claim be...

  • District Judge

    Judges whose duties involve hearing applications made within proceedings and final...

  • Domicile

    The country in which a person is normally...

  • Duty of Care

    A duty to take reasonable care not to cause physical, psychiatric or economic loss or...

  • Engrossment

    The final version of a...

  • Entry of Judgment

    Decision of the Court in favour of one or other of the...

  • European Court of Justice

    The highest court in the European...

  • Ex parte

    Meaning 'on behalf of only one...

  • Expert Witness

    Person employed to give evidence on a subject in which they are qualified or have...

  • Fee Earner

    A solicitor who is carrying out specific...

  • Filing

    Documents sent to the court for sealing and...

  • Guarantor

    Someone who promises to pay money to creditors in case it isn't paid by a...

  • High Court

    A Civil...

  • House of Lords

    The highest court in the...

  • Injunction

    An order by a Court either preventing or requiring someone to carry out a certain...

  • Inquisitorial

    This system of justice aims to get at the truth without the "conflict" part of the Adversarial...

  • Inspection of Documents

    Arrangements made to allow mutual exchange and copying of documents, following disclosure of...

  • Instruction

    Job given to a...

  • Interim Hearing

    A court hearing which does not reach a final...

  • Interim Order

    An order during the course of court proceedings which is not the final...

  • Interim Payments/Damages

    A payment made as a result of a court order or as offered by an opponent before the case is...

  • Interlocutory

    Interim or pending a full...

  • Issue

    To initiate legal proceedings in pursuit of a...

  • Judge

    An officer appointed to administer the law and who has authority to hear and try cases in a Court of...

  • Judgment

    The final decision of a Court  A Judge’s final decision ...

  • Judicial Review

    The review of decisions of lower courts and public bodies by the High...

  • Jurisdiction

    The area and the matters over which a Court has legal...

  • Juror

    A person who has been summoned by a Court to be a member of the...

  • Jury

    Body of jurors sworn to reach a verdict according to the evidence in a...

  • Jury Summons

    Order to attend jury...

  • Justice of the Peace

    A lay person who is appointed to administer judicial business in a Magistrates...

  • Law

    The system made up of rules established by legislation, custom or...

  • Law Lords

    The judges who sit in the House of...

  • Legal Aid

    Money paid by the Government for legal expenses of people who are deemed not able to afford it Government help for those who cannot afford legal representation ...

  • Legal Executive

    Solicitor’s "unadmitted"...

  • Libel

    A written and published statement or article which causes harm to...

  • Litigation

    Legal...

  • Lodging

    The process of delivering documents to a...

  • Lord Chancellor

    The cabinet minister who acts as speaker of The Supreme Court and oversees the hearings of the Law Lords...

  • Lord Chief Justice

    Senior judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) who also heads the Queens Bench Division of the High Court of...

  • Lord Justice of Appeal

    Title given to certain judges sitting in the Court of...

  • Master of the Rolls

    Senior judge of the Civil Division of the Court of...

  • Mitigation

    Reasons submitted in proceedings on behalf of the defendant in order to minimise the...

  • Motion

    An application by one party to the High Court for an order in their...

  • Notary Public

    Someone who is authorised to swear oaths and certify the execution of...

  • Notice of Issue

    Notice sent by a Court to a claimant which gives notification of the case number allocated to their action and any details of fees...

  • Notice of application

    The document by which proceedings are brought to a...

  • Oath

    A verbal promise by a person with religious beliefs to tell the truth in...

  • Official Solicitor

    A solicitor or barrister appointed by the Lord Chancellor and working in the Lord Chancellor's...

  • On Notice

    When the other party is given notice of, and served with, an...

  • Open correspondence

    Correspondence between solicitors which is not marked “without...

  • Oral Examination

    A method of questioning a person under oath before an officer of the Court to obtain details of their financial...

  • Order

    A direction by a...

  • Part 36 Offer

    This is essentially a settlement...

  • Particulars

    Details relevant to a...

  • Party

    Any of the participants in a Court action or...

  • Patient

    A person who is deemed incapable of handling their own affairs by reason of mental...

  • Penal Notice

    A court warning notifying the recipient that a breach of the order will result in committal to...

  • Personal Application

    Application made to the Court without legal...

  • Personal Service

    Personal delivery of a claim, summons or...

  • Plaintiff

    Person issuing a Claim (now known as...

  • Pleading

    Documents setting out a claim or defence of parties involved in civil...

  • Power of Arrest

    An order attached to some injunctions to allow the police to arrest a person who has broken the terms of an...

  • Pre-trial Review

    A preliminary appointment to consider the issues before the Court and fix the timetable for the...

  • Precedent

    The decision of a case which established principles of law that act as an authority for future cases of a similar...

  • Process

    The document commencing a claim or subsequent...

  • Public Trustee

    Official who can act as an executor or administrator of an estate of a deceased person, or as a...

  • Puisne Judge

    Refers to any judge of the High Court other than the heads of each...

  • Quantum

    In a damages claim the amount to be determined by the...

  • Quash

    To declare no longer...

  • Queen's Counsel (QC)

    Senior...

  • Queens Bench Division

    Division of the High...

  • Receiver

    Person appointed by the Court of Protection to act on behalf of a...

  • Recorder

    Members of the legal profession who are appointed to act in a judicial capacity on a part time...

  • Redetermination

    An application by a solicitor or barrister to reconsider amounts assessed by...

  • Remedy

    Payments or other actions ordered by a court in order to settle a...

  • Respondent

    The party against whom proceedings are...

  • Restitution

    When a Warrant of Restitution must be...
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