Indian Legal System > Civil Laws > The Code of Civil Procedure > Terminology of CPC
In this article w shall study the terminology of the code of civil procedure. These are the terms and phrases used in civil proceedings, decree, and judgment.
Abatement of a Suit:
Thus the termination of a suit by operation of the law caused by the death of one of the parties during the pendency of the suit is called the abatement of the suit.
Adjournment of Hearing:
An adjournment of hearing or adjournment of the suit is the postponement of the hearing of the suit to a future date by the Court.
Affidavit:
An affidavit is a declaration of facts, reduced to writing and sworn or affirmed before a person having authority to administer oaths, as for instance, a Magistrate or a Notary Public.
Appeal:
An appeal is a judicial examination of the decision of a lower court by a higher court.
Attachment:
Attachment means restraining or holding some rights over any asset or recoverable amount.
Attachment Before Judgment:
Attachment before judgment is the attachment of property of the defendant when he fails to furnish security to the court, sufficient to satisfy the decree.
Cause of Action:
The cause of action is an act, action, or omission, that gives rise to the institution of a suit.
Caveat:
The caveat is a caution in writing given by an interested party to the court, calling upon the court not to give any relief to another party, without notice or intimation to the party filing the caveat. The person filing a caveat is called a caveator.
Code:
According to Sectio 2(1) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “Code” includes rules.
Commission:
As per the Civil Procedure Code a commission, refers to an authority which is appointed to exercise a power or a direction issued by the Court.
Counter-Claim:
Counter-claim is the cross-claim made by the defendant against the plaintiff and this claim is treated as a plaint filed by the defendant against the plaintiff.
Decree:
According to Sectio 2(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “decree” means the formal expression of an adjudication which, so far as regards the Court expressing it, conclusively determines the rights of the parties with regard to all or any of the matters in controversy in the suit and may be either preliminary or final. It shall be deemed to include the rejection of a plaint and the determination of any question within, but shall not include
(a) any adjudication from which an appeal lies as an appeal from an order, or (b) any order of dismissal for default.
Decree Holder or Judgment Creditor:
According to Section 2(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a “decree-holder” means any person in whose favour a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made.
Defendant:
The litigant against whom the plaintiff has filed suit is called the defendant.
District:
According to Sectio 2(4) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “district” means the local limits of jurisdiction of a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction(hereinafter called a “District Court”) and includes the local limits of the ordinary civil jurisdiction of a High Court.
Evasive Denials:
When a defendant files a written statement, he must deal with each allegation specifically with each allegation of the plaintiff, that is, he must admit or deny each and every allegation contained in the plaint. If he skips answer to some allegations made by the plaintiff, then it is called evasive denial.
Execution:
The term ‘execution’ refers to the process of enforcing or giving effect to judgment, decree, or order of a court.
Execution of Decree:
Execution of Decree is the enforcement of Decree and Orders of the Court enabling the Decree holder to realize the fruits of decree.
Ex-parte:
An order or a decree is said to be passed ex parte when it is passed after hearing only one side, and not the other.
Ex Parte Decree:
Ex parte decree is a decree passed by a Court on a defendant being absent when the suit is called out for the hearing.
Foreign Court:
According to Section 2(5) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “foreign Court” means a Court situate outside India and rot established or continued by the authority of the Central Government
Foreign Judgment:
According to Section 2(6) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, ” foreign judgment ” means the judgment of a foreign Court.
Garnishee:
Garnishee is a person who is a debtor of the judgment debtor.
Garnishee Order:
A garnishee order is an order by which a court can call upon the garnishee not to pay the amount due to the judgment debtor from the garnishee but instead to pay the judgment creditor.
Government Pleader:
According to Section 2(6) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “Government Pleader” includes any officer appointed by the State Government to perform all or any of the functions expressly imposed by this Code on the Government Pleader and also any pleader acting under the directions of the Government Pleader
Indigent Person or Pauper:
An indigent person is one who does not have sufficient means to pay the court fees in respect of the plaint being filed by him.
Injunction:
An injunction is an order of a court calling upon a party to do or to refrain from doing a particular act.
Interpleader suit:
An interpleader suit is one where the real dispute is between the defendants only, and therefore, the defendants “interplead”, that is, they plead against each other, instead of pleading against the plaintiff as in an ordinary suit.
Issues:
The term “issue” means a point of the question in the legal proceedings or issues are material propositions of facts affirmed by one party and denied by the other.
Judge:
According to Section 2(8) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, “Judge” means the presiding officer of a Civil Court.
Judgment:
According to Section 2(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, “judgment ” means the statement given by the Judge of the grounds of a decree or order
Judgment Debtor:
According to Section 2(10) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a “judgment-debtor” means any person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made;
Jurisdiction:
Jurisdiction, in law, is the authority of a court to entertain, hear and determine cases (suits or other proceedings). This authority is based on the Constitution.
Jurisdictional Fact:
The existence of a fact which gives authority to a court to try and dispose of a particular legal proceeding is called jurisdictional fact.
Legal Representative:
According to Section 2(11) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, ” legal representative ” means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased and where a party sues or is sued in a representative character the person on whom the estate devolves on the death of the party so suing or sued
Letter of Request or Rogatory Letter:
A letter of request is a letter issued by a court in one country to a court in a foreign country requesting some judicial assistance from the judiciary of that country.
Litigant:
A litigant is a party to a lawsuit. It is a person engaged in a suit or petition before the Court.
Litigation:
Litigation is a judicial proceeding undertaken in court to determine the rights, duties and obligations of parties in dispute.
Mesne Profits:
According to Section 2(12) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, ” mesne profits ” of property means those profits which the person in wrongful possession of such property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received there from, together with interest on such profits, but shall not include profits due to improvements made by the person in wrongful possession.
Next Friend of Minor or Guardian ad litem:
The next friend of the minor is that person who files a suit on behalf of a minor.
Order:
According to Section 2(14) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, ” order ” means the formal expression of any decision of a Civil Court which is not a decree.
Petitioner:
In the case where a petition is filed for example say writ petition, then the person filing it is called the petitioner.
Plaint:
A plaint is a statement of claim. It is the document by which a suit is instituted in a court. It contains the grounds on which the assistance of the Court is sought by the plaintiff. It forms part of pleadings before the Court.
Plaintiff:
The litigant who approaches a court of law by filing a suit or other legal proceedings is called the plaintiff.
Pleader:
According to Section 2(15) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, “pleader” means any person entitled to appear and plead for another in Court, and includes an advocate, a vakil and an attorney of a High Court.
Pleadings:
The term “Pleadings” as used in the Code refers to the plaint or written statement. They are to be signed and verified as provided in the Code.
Preliminary Decree:
A preliminary decree is that decree given by the court when further proceedings are required before a suit can be completely disposed of.
Precept:
A precept is an order or direction given by the court which passes a decree to any other court competent to execute the decree.
Public Officer:
According to Section 2(17) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,
” public officer ” means a person falling under any of the following descriptions, namely:-
(a) every Judge;
(b) every member of the Indian Civil Service;
(c) every commissioned or gazetted officer in the military naval or air forces of the Union while serving under the Government;
(d) every officer of a Court of Justice whose duty it is, as such officer, to investigate or report on any matter of law or fact, or to make, authenticate or keep any document, or to take charge or dispose of any property, or to execute any judicial process, or to administer any oath, or to interpret, or to preserve order, in the Court, and every person especially authorized by a Court of Justice to perform any of such duties;
(e) every person who holds any office by virtue of which he is empowered to place or keep any person in confinement;
(f) every officer of the Government whose duty it is, as such officer, to prevent offences, to give information of offences, to bring offenders to justice, or to protect the public health, safety or convenience;
(g) every officer whose duty it is, as such officer, to take, receive, keep or expend any property on behalf of the Government, or to make any survey, assessment or contract on behalf of the Government, or to execute any revenue-process, or to investigate, or to report on, any matter affecting the pecuniary interests of the Government or to make, authenticate or keep any document relating to the pecuniary interests of the Government, or to prevent the infraction of any law for the protection of the pecuniary interests of the Government; and
(h) every officer in the service or pay of the Government, or remunerated by fees or commission for the performance of any public duty:
Reference:
When the subordinate court in order to take assistance refers the case to the High Court, it is called the reference. The opinion of the High Court can also be sought when the subordinate court has some doubts about the question of law. Reference is always made to the High Court.
Respondent:
The party against whom a petition is filed is called the respondent.
Restitution:
The literal meaning of restitution is an act of restoring a thing to its proper owner.
Review:
“review” is the process of judicial re-examination of a case by the same court and by the same judge who has passed the judgment or order earlier.
Revision:
A revision is said to take place when the High Court calls for the record of any case decided by a subordinate court and passes an appropriate order if the subordinate court has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it or has failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested or has acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or material irregularity.
Rules:
According to Sectio 2(18) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “rules” means rules and forms contained in the First Schedule or made under section 122 or section 125.
Set-off:
Set-off is a defence available to the defendant in his written statement, by which he seeks to wipe out or reduce the claim of the plaintiff against him.
Share in Corporation:
According to Sectio 2(19) of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, “share in a corporation” shall be deemed to include stock, debenture stock, debenture bonds.
Summary Suit or Summary Procedure:
A summary suit is a suit where the defendant cannot defend the suit as a matter of right and requires the leave of the court to do so. It is to prevent unreasonable obstruction by the defendant who has no defence.
Summons:
A summons is a document issued by an officer of a court, calling upon the person to whom it is directed to appear before the court or an officer of the court for a particular purpose on a stated date at a stated time.
Written Statement:
A written statement is the reply or defence of the defendant in answer to the plaint or the plaintiff. It constitutes the pleading filed by the defendant.