Crown Court Criminal court of the Supreme Court of England and Wales with jurisdiction over the most serious criminal cases. （ There are a number of Crown Courts located throughout England and Wales.）
Custodial Sentence A sentence of imprisonment by a court or tribunal.
Damages Monetary compensation （ such as for personal injury） .
Defense Statement of casesetting out thelegal grounds and details on which a Defendant is defending legal proceedings being pursued against that Defendant.
Defendant Theparty to legal proceedings against whom the claim is being made by the Claimant.
Deposition A written or recorded witness statement taken on oath.
Directions A list of steps or instructions， usually issued by a court， setting out the specific actions which each party in a legal action is required to comply with prior to thecase being heard in court. （ In order to ensure that the legal proceedings concerned proceed efficiently and that the parties in the case have properly prepared their cases in readiness for trial.）
Director Individual with management responsibilities within a company. （ All directors of a company are collectively referred to as the“board of directors”. ）
Disbursements Costs incurred in the course of legal work other than a solicitor s fees（ e.g. travelling expenses and fees payable to expert witnesses） .
Discontinuance A situation whereby the Claimant in civil proceedings voluntarily confirms that the caseis no longer being pursued （ i.e. is being“discontinued”） .
Disclosure Revealing to another party to legal proceedings the past or present existence of evidential material （ usually documents） which may be relevant to the case.
Discovery The process whereby each party to legal proceedings reveals details of documentation and information in their possession which may be relevant to the case.（ Thereby providing another party in the case with the opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of such material. The court usually orders that discovery should take place simultaneously between the parties.）
District Judge A judicial officer of the County Court who acts as judge in many straightforward County Court cases.
Documentary Evidence Evidence in written form （ e.g. letters and contracts etc. ） . EvidenceInformation and material （ such as witness testimony and documentation） relevant to a case and on which a court or tribunal bases its findings.
Evidence in Chief Evidence elicited from a witness by the party calling that witness.
Examination in Chief Questioning of a witness in court by the party calling that particular witness to give evidence.
Exemplary Damages Additional compensation awarded by a court amounting to more than the actual losses sustained by a party and intended as a penalty to reflect the court s particular disapproval of the Defendant s conduct. （ Usually only awarded in U.S. courts， where some exemplary damages awards have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. ）
Ex parte A hearing in court which takes placewith oneof the parties to the proceedings being absent. （ A moremodern equivalent phrasenow commonly used is“without notice”. ）
Expert Witness Witness called to provide evidence involving professional expertise in a particular field which is relevant to a particular case （ e.g. a doctor） .
Express TermTermor provision in an agreementwhich is specifically （ i.e. expressly） stated or written.
Extraordinary General Meeting Any general （ shareholders ） meeting of a company other than its Annual General Meeting （ AGM） .
Further and Better Particulars More specific detail or information of a specific aspect of the case referred to in the statements of case （ court documents） . （ Such further detail or information will usually be provided in responseto a request by a party for such further detail or information in order to clarify the claim being made. ）
General Damages Compensation which can only bedetermined by reference to previous cases of a similar nature or by the court （ including for instance damages for pain and suffering） .
High Court Civil court which deals with higher value civil cases.
I.e. Abbreviation for Latin phrase“id est”and meaning“that is”or“in other words”.
Illegal Against the law. （ E.g. stealing is illegal. ）
Implied Term Termof an agreementnot expressly stated butrecognized in law by virtue of the obvious understanding between the parties or by their conduct or the circumstances of the agreement. （ An implied term can also be imposed by statute， e.g. implied term of satisfactory quality.）
In Camera In private. （ E.g. a court hearing closed to the public is sometimes referred to as being“in camera”.）
Injunction A court order compelling a person to do or refrain fromdoing something.
In Open Court A trial or court hearing in public.
Instructions to Counsel Written information prepared by a solicitor and provided to a barrister to enablethatbarrister to provideadviceto a client or to draft legal documentation on behalf of a client. Such“instructions to counsel”usually include a summary of the facts of the case， relevant law and any relevant supporting documentation.
Interim Order An order madeby a court prior to the final trial or hearing of a particular case （ e.g. an order for directions setting out the further steps each party is required to take prior to trial） .
Interlocutory Application/Hearing/Order An application to court， court hearing or court order made prior to trial.
Inter partes Term used to refer to a court hearing at which all parties are present （ as opposed to an“ex-parte”hearing at which at least oneparty is absent） .
Interrogatory A request for further information.
Issue （ of Proceedings） To commence legal proceedings by lodging relevant papers at court （ such as a claim form） . （ This is referred to as“issuing proceedings”. ）
Judge Trier or adjudicator of a case responsible for making findings of law （ and sometimes of fact albeit also see“jury”below） .