Civil litigation is the type of Court proceeding which take place if the legal dispute relates to a civil case and if the case involves a person’s private rights and liabilities
If you are involved in a civil case and seeking to set right an undesirable situation, you may wish to commence civil litigation proceedings to pursue a civil claim against the wrongful party.
A civil case or civil action is started by preparing and filing written documents according to a set of rules and guidelines administered by the Court.
The same rules and guidelines set out will apply to regardless of whether the case is being conducted by a lawyer or a party who is representing himself.
A civil case can be started in 2 ways:
By filing a document known as a Writ of Summons
This route is generally used when the case involves numerous and significant disputes relating to the facts of the case
The Writ of Summons must generally state the key information relating to the claim, such as:
Cause of action: this is the basis and reason for the claim.
Remedies: these are the types and form of redress or corrective action which you are seeking to obtain if you succeed in the claim.
This information is usually set out in a separate document known as the Statement of Claim.
It is more common for cases to be started by a Writ of Summons than by an Originating Summons.
By filing a document known as an Originating Summons:
This route is generally used when the case involves a specific application or request being made to the Court to decide on how a particular document should be interpreted.
Some laws also state that a case must be started through an Originating Summons.