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

Procedural law: Media

Images

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,...

© A. De Gregorio—De Agostini/Getty Images

Charles Le Brun: Portrait of King Louis XIV

Charles Le Brun: Portrait of King Louis XIV

Portrait of King Louis XIV, by Charles Le Brun, c. 1655.

Photos.com/Jupiterimages

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

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

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis...

© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

House of Lords

House of Lords

Chamber of the House of Lords in the Houses of Parliament, London.

Civil Service Local—Cabinet Office/© Crown Copyright (Open Government License 3.0)

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