A party is an

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

or group of individuals that compose a single

entity An entity is something that Existence, exists as itself. It does not need to be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is Lif ...

which can be identified as one for the purposes of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Parties to litigation

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 ...

(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 juris ...

(person sued or charged with a crime), *

petitioner 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 another private person has acted unl ...

(files a petition asking for a court ruling), *

respondent 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 legal usage, this term specificall ...

(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, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

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 one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

, usually identifying the party that brings a lawsuit as the

, or, in older American cases, the ''party of the first part''; and the party against whom the case was brought as the

, or, in older American cases, the ''party of the second part''. In a

criminal case Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

in Nigeria and some other countries the parties are called

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

and defendant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Party (Law) Legal terminology

Parties to litigation

See also

References