Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

(CICA) A Government scheme to provide

monetary compensation to victims of crimes of violence.

Cross-Examination Questioning of a witness in court by a party other than the party calling that particular witness to provide evidence.

Crown Court Criminal court of the Supreme

Court of England and Wales with jurisdiction

over the most serious criminal cases. (There are a number of Crown Courts located throughout England and Wales.)

Custodial Sentence A sentence of imprisonment by a court or tribunal.

Damages Monetary compensation (such as

for personal injury).

Defence Statement of case setting out the legal grounds and details on which a Defendant is defending legal proceedings being pursued against that Defendant.

Defendant The party to legal proceedings

against whom the claim is being made by the

Claimant.

Deposition A written or recorded witness

statement taken on oath.

Directions A list of steps or instructions,

usually issued by a court, setting out the specific actions which each party in a legal action is required to comply with prior to the case being heard in court. (In order to ensure that the legal proceedings concerned proceed efficiently and that the parties in the case have properly prepared their cases in readiness for trial.)

Director Individual with management responsibilities within a company. (All directors of a company are collectively referred to as the ‘board of directors’.)

Disbursements Costs incurred in the course

of legal work other than a solicitor’s fees (e.g.

travelling expenses and fees payable to expert

witnesses).

Discontinuance A situation whereby the

Claimant in civil proceedings voluntarily confirms that the case is no longer being pursued (i.e. is being ‘discontinued’).

Disclosure Revealing to another party to legal proceedings the past or present existence of evidential material (usually documents) which may be relevant to the case.

Discovery The process whereby each party to

legal proceedings reveals details of documentation and information in their possession which may be relevant to the case. (Thereby providing another party in the case with the opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of such material. The court usually orders that discovery should take place simultaneously between the parties.)

District Judge A judicial officer of the County Court who acts as judge in many straightforward County Court cases.

Documentary Evidence Evidence in written

form (e.g. letters and contracts etc.).

Evidence Information and material (such as witness testimony and documentation) relevant to a case and on which a court or tribunal bases its findings.

Evidence in Chief Evidence elicited from a

witness by the party calling that witness.

Examination in Chief Questioning of a witness in court by the party calling that particular witness to give evidence.

Exemplary Damages Additional compensation awarded by a court amounting to more than the actual losses sustained by a party and intended as a penalty to reflect the court’s particular disapproval of the Defendant’s conduct. (Usually only awarded in US courts, where some exemplary damages awards have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars.)

Ex parte A hearing in court which takes place with one of the parties to the proceedings being absent. (A more modern equivalent phrase now commonly used is ‘without notice’.)

Expert Witness Witness called to provide

evidence involving professional expertise in a

particular field which is relevant to a particular case (e.g. a doctor).

Express Term Term or provision in an agreement which is specifically (i.e. expressly) stated or written.

Extraordinary General Meeting Any general (shareholders’) meeting of a company other than its Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Further and Better Particulars More specific detail or information of a specific aspect of the case referred to in the statements of case (court documents). (Such further detail or information will usually be provided in response to a request by a party for such further detail or information in order to clarify the claim being made.)

General Damages Compensation which can

only be determined by reference to previous

cases of a similar nature or by the court (including for instance damages for pain and

suffering).

High Court Civil court which deals with

higher value civil cases.

I.e. Abbreviation for Latin phrase ‘id est’ and meaning ‘that is’ or ‘in other words’.

Illegal Against the law. (E.g. stealing is illegal.)

Implied Term Term of an agreement not expressly stated but recognised in law by virtue of the obvious understanding between the parties or by their conduct or the circumstances of the agreement. (An implied term can also be imposed by statute, e.g. implied term of satisfactory quality.)

In Camera In private. (E.g. a court hearing

closed to the public is sometimes referred to as being ‘in camera’.)

Injunction A court order compelling a person to do or refrain from doing something.

In Open Court A trial or court hearing in

public.

Instructions to Counsel Written information

prepared by a solicitor and provided to a barrister to enable that barrister to provide advice to a client or to draft legal documentation on behalf of a client. Such ‘instructions to counsel’ usually include a summary of the facts of the case, relevant law and any relevant supporting documentation.

Interim Order An order made by a court

prior to the final trial or hearing of a particular case (e.g. an order for directions setting out the further steps each party is required to take prior to trial).

Interlocutory Application / Hearing / Order

An application to court, court hearing or court

order made prior to trial.

Inter partes Term used to refer to a court

hearing at which all parties are present (as opposed to an ‘ex-parte’ hearing at which at least one party is absent).

Interrogatory A request for further information.

Issue (of Proceedings) To commence legal

proceedings by lodging relevant papers at

court (such as a claim form). (This is referred to as ‘issuing proceedings’.)

Judge Trier or adjudicator of a case responsible for making findings of law (and sometimes of fact albeit also see ‘jury’ below).

Judg(e)ment A decision or declaration of the

court, usually setting out the court’s findings

and details of any damages (compensation) or

other remedy which the court has decided to

grant to any party in the case.

Jurisdiction The authority to decide and enforce the law. (E.g. the County and High Courts have jurisdiction to try breach of contract cases in England and Wales.)

Jury Group of individuals (usually 12) who

make findings of fact in the most serious criminal cases (usually in the Crown Court in

England and Wales).

Intellectual Property Law relating to copyright, rights to inventions (patents) and

trademarks etc.

Law A system of rules and regulations governing and determining permissible conduct within society.

Leading Question A question which suggests the answer or which implies the existence of some particular fact(s) or circumstances.

Leave Permission. (E.g. to seek ‘leave of the

court’ is to seek permission of the court.)

Legal Privilege A legal right to refuse to disclose or produce documentation or other

evidence on the basis of some special interest

recognised by law. (Typically relating to the

legally recognised right for discussions and

correspondence between lawyer and client to

remain ‘privileged’ and thus protected from

disclosure.)

Letter Before Action Correspondence sent by a prospective Claimant or his legal advisor intimating to another party an intention to

commence legal action against that other party along with brief details of the proposed legal action. (Note that a more modern equivalent is ‘letter of claim’.)

Letter of Claim Modern term for ‘letter before action’ (see above).

Liability Legal responsibility to comply with

or discharge a legal obligation or indebtedness.

Limitation Period The time-limit prescribed

by law in which a Claimant must commence a claim in court. Failure to issue the claim in

court within this time-limit will usually result

in the Claimant losing the legal right to pursue that particular claim. (E.g. the limitation period for a personal injury claim is three years in the UK.)

Listing for Trial Procedure for providing the

court with final documentation and information in order to enable the court to finalise a date for trial.

Litigant A party to legal proceedings (i.e. to

litigation – see below).

Litigation Legal action / proceedings involving a dispute between parties.

Liquidated Damages A term used to refer to

a specifically quantifiable amount of monetary compensation which a Claimant is seeking from another party. (I.e. a sum which can be precisely calculated as opposed to an amount which is variable at the court’s discretion.)

Locus Location of an incident, particularly of

an accident.

Magistrates’ Court Criminal Court in England and Wales which tries the relatively less serious criminal cases. (Usually conducted by a ‘Magistrate’.)

Member A company shareholder.

Minutes Record of matters discussed and

decided in the course of directors’ and shareholders’ meetings.

Minor An individual under 18 years of age.

Mitigation A term used in criminal law to

refer to submissions seeking to justify or at

least provide some explanation for a party’s

conduct and aimed at persuading a court or

tribunal to show some sympathy towards that

party. (See also ‘Mitigation of Damages’

below.)

Mitigation of Damages A term used in civil

law to refer to efforts made by a Claimant to

minimise or alleviate loss and damage sustained.

Negligence Used in a legal sense to refer to a

failure to comply with a duty of care towards

others imposed by law or by generally accepted standards.

Oral Evidence Spoken (as opposed to documentary) evidence.

Party Person or organisation entering into an

agreement or engaged in legal proceedings.

Plaintiff Person or party commencing a legal

action. Note that the term ‘Claimant’ is now

used in English courts in place of ‘Plaintiff’ (the term ‘Plaintiff’ still being in general use however in American courts).

Pleadings A term previously used to refer to

the court documents setting out each party’s

case and now largely superseded by the term

‘Statements of Case’.

Poll Means of voting at shareholders’ meetings whereby votes on a particular resolution are counted on the basis of the number of voting shares held by each person voting (as opposed to ‘on a show of hands’).

Precedent Existing document, draft or court

decision which is relevant to and used as the

basis for subsequent legal drafting or decisions.

(‘Doctrine of Precedent’ refers to a concept

whereby previous court decisions establish the general legal position for subsequent legal disputes involving similar circumstances.)

Privilege (See ‘Legal Privilege’ above.)

Proceedings Term used to refer to an ongoing court action (known as court or legal proceedings).

Proxy An individual appointed to represent a

shareholder at a shareholders’ meeting.

Quantum (of Damages) The level or amount

of monetary compensation (damages) awarded by a court or agreed between the parties to a case by negotiation.

Quash Over-rule or annul a previous court

decision.

Queen’s Counsel A title bestowed on barristers who have demonstrated a high level of professional expertise and competence. Barristers appointed as ‘Queen’s Counsel’ may use the letters ‘QC’ after their names and are sometimes referred to as ‘silks’ or ‘Leading Counsel’.

Quorum Minimum number required to be

present at a meeting in order for decisions

taken at that meeting to be valid.

Registered Office Official address of a company as recorded with the Registrar of

Companies at which official documents and legal proceedings can be served on a company.

Registrar of Companies Official responsible

for maintaining the ‘Company Registry’

recording details of incorporated companies.

Remedy The specific means by which a party

receives restitution or satisfaction for losscaused by another. (E.g. the usual remedy for personal injury is damages.)

Resolution A decision made by members of a company.

Respondent Person defending an application

to court for a specific order or defending Employment Tribunal proceedings.

Return Date Date set by a court for an interlocutory hearing.

Restrictive Covenant Clause to prevent an employee competing etc. with his/her employer.

Rights of Audience Right to appear in and

address a particular court or tribunal.

Provision or delivery of court documentation (such as a claim form or notice of a forthcoming court hearing etc.). A person receiving such documentation is referred to as having been ‘served’.

Sentence a punishment given by a judge

Set Aside A subsequent order or direction

from a court cancelling a previous judgment or order (referred to as ‘setting aside’ the previous order or direction).

Setting Down for Trial Now usually referred

to as ‘listing for trial’. (See ‘Listing for Trial’

above.)

Settlement An agreement reached between

parties to a legal dispute which concludes that

dispute.

Shareholder Owner of shares in a company

(i.e. who is a ‘member’ of that company).

Solicitor A lawyer who prepares cases and

legal transactions on behalf of a client (often instructing a barrister to provide representation in court).

Special Damages Actual financial losses which can be specifically ascertained as having been incurred between the date the cause of action arose and the date of trial. (E.g. loss of earnings up to trial and property damage sustained etc.)

Stand the part of a court of law where people stand to answer lawyer’s questions

Standard of Proof The criterion or degree of

proof required in order for a party to establish

its case. (E.g. in civil cases the standard of proofis ‘on the balance of probabilities’ whereas in a criminal case it is usually ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’.)

Statute Legislation in the form of written

laws and regulations (such as ‘Acts of Parliament’created by the UK Parliament).

Stay A halt to court proceedings. Proceedings

which are thus ‘stayed’ do not continue any further (although a stay can subsequently be ‘lifted’ to enable those proceedings to continue).

Strike Out To ‘strike out’ means that the court has ordered that a particular aspect of a case (such as particular written details in a statement of case) is to be removed from the court records and can therefore no longer be relied upon. The court can strike out an entire case if a party is sufficiently dilatory in complying with steps required by the court, thereby effectively terminating those proceedings.

Subpoena Witness summons requiring a witness to attend court to give evidence.

Sue Informal term meaning to issue legal

proceedings.

Take the stand to go into the stand and start to give evidence

Testimony Statement or assertion made to a

court by a witness.

Tort A breach of a duty imposed by civil law

(e.g. negligence).

Unliquidated Damages Damages (monetary

compensation) which cannot be precisely

quantified upon commencement of legal proceedings (as opposed to liquidated damages which can–see above).

Vicarious Liability A legal concept whereby

a person or entity can be held liable for the

fault or wrongdoing of another. (A typical example of this is an employer being liable for the negligence of an employee acting in the course of his employment, i.e. vicariously

liable.)

Without Prejudice A legal concept whereby

oral or written communication can be entered

into between parties with a view to reaching a

negotiated settlement. I.e. on the basis that the details of such communication cannot be disclosed to the court or relied upon in court in the event that a settlement is not achieved.

Writ Court form traditionally used to commence legal proceedings in court. (Note that claim forms are now used far more commonly for commencing legal proceedings.)