A plaintiff is the person who initiates litigation against another in a civil (non-criminal) action. In some courts and tribunals the plaintiff is called the Applicant. The person against whom litigation is commenced is called the defendant or in some cases the respondent.

Commencement refers to the method required to start the litigation process. The document used to do this is called the originating process. For example, to start a personal injury action in the District Court the document required is a statement of claim. Another common type of originating process is a summons. To commence an action, these documents are filed in the registry of the relevant court together with the prescribed filing fee.

Service describes the way in which the court documents are brought to the attention of other parties involved. Sometimes service on another party is required to be personal: this means that the document has to be delivered to the person involved and left in their presence. For many court documents however it will be sufficient under the rules of the court for service to occur by mail.

Default procedure. Usually when an originating process is served the other party is required to take some step within a certain time. Most courts have a procedure called judgement by default if the defendant does not take these prescribed steps - judgement will be entered in favour of the plaintiff.

Defence: if the claim is disputed, the defendant must file a defence or answer to the claim within a certain time after the originating process is served on them.

Pre-trial procedures. There are various steps required to eventually bring the matter before the court. Some courts have standard timetable of steps which must be complied with. For example in some courts the court will issue a date for a directions hearing as soon as the originating process is filed. At this hearing, sometimes called a callover, the court will make orders or directions for things which need to be done by the parties to prepare for the hearing. At this time the court might also consider whether the matter is appropriate for referral to some other method of dispute resolution, such as arbitration.

Before the trial there are also a number of interlocutory applications which can be made. These are applications to the court for orders other than for final resolution. There is a wide range of interlocutory applications which can be made. Their purpose, broadly, is to give the court power to make orders which will preserve the status quo between parties, to obtain evidence or to narrow down the issues before trial.

Hearing: If the matter has not been resolved it will proceed to hearing before a judge. It is at the hearing that each side will have the opportunity to present its case through the testimony of witnesses and the other party will have the opportunity to cross examine those witnesses. Courts are generally required to apply strict rules to the evidence which can be used and parties can object to certain types of evidence being given by witnesses such as opinion evidence where a witness is not qualified to give that opinion. Many tribunals are not bound by the same rules of evidence as are applied in courts.

At the end of the hearing the judge will give a verdict and make other orders which may include orders as to the payment of costs.

Enforcement refers to the procedures available to the court for ensuring that the court's orders are carried out. For example if a person has been ordered to pay money it may be possible to obtain a court order that this money be taken out of their salary.

Read on about Courts & Tribunals.