Procedural law

Introduction
Civil procedure
- Historical development
  - Roman law and the Islamic legal tradition
  - Medieval European law
  - English common law
  - Civil-law codifications
- Civil-law procedure and common-law procedure
  - The impact of the jury
  - Convergence of civil- and common-law procedure
- The framework for litigation
  - Constitutional bases of civil procedure
  - Jurisdiction, competence, and venue
  - Parties
  - Stages leading to trial or main hearing
  - The summons and the requirements of service
  - Provisional remedies
  - Pleadings
  - Appearance of defendant and plaintiff
  - The preparatory stage
    - Discovery procedures
    - Pretrial conference
- The trial or main hearing
  - The common-law trial: judge and jury
    - The order of trial
    - Rules of evidence
    - Directed verdicts
    - Instructions to the jury
    - Types of verdict
    - New trial and other relief
  - The civil-law main hearing
    - Types of proof proceedings
    - Rules of evidence
  - Judgment and execution
    - Drafting the judgment
    - Effects of the judgment
    - Enforcement of the judgment
    - Costs and disbursements
- Appeals and other methods of review
Criminal procedure
- Procedure before trial
  - The investigatory phase
    - The role of the police
    - The role of the magistrate
    - The role of the prosecutor
    - The role of the suspect
    - The role of defense counsel
    - Pretrial detention
  - The decision to prosecute
    - Private prosecution
    - Grand jury
    - Prosecutorial discretion
    - Plea bargaining
- Trial procedure
  - Criminal courts
  - Pretrial matters
  - Publicity of the trial
  - Presentation of evidence
  - Finding the verdict
  - Sentencing
- Postconviction procedure
  - Common law
  - Civil law

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy.

Charles Le Brun: Portrait of King Louis XIV

Jacques-Louis David: The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries

At a Glance

Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy.

procedural law summary

Related Questions

Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. — Justinian I Justinian I, detail of a 6th-century mosaic at the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

Procedural law

Also known as: adjective law, legal procedure, legal proceeding(Show More)

Written by

Stephen C. YeazellAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

Procedural law, the law governing the machinery of the courts and the methods by which both the state and the individual (the latter including groups, whether incorporated or not) enforce their rights in the several courts. Procedural law prescribes the means of enforcing rights or providing redress of wrongs and comprises rules about jurisdiction, pleading and practice, evidence, appeal, execution of judgments, representation of counsel, costs, and other matters. Procedural law is commonly contrasted with...

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