Litigation Process

Litigation is a process for settlement of disputes between the parties to a law suit, which involves
persons, organizations and the State. The matter is heard before a court of law having jurisdiction when
brought by the concerned parties or litigants to the lawsuit for the resolution of the dispute. The process
of litigation in the adversarial system of dispute resolution is regulated by the rules of civil or criminal
procedure. Different constitutional provisions, statutory laws, case laws or precedents, by laws and
regulations prescribe the procedural laws or rules. However, the procedural laws vary based on the
jurisdiction and the court of law.

Litigants might face serious consequences based on laws of limitation, on failure to comply with the
procedural laws or rules; e.g., capacity of party to the suit to present his claims or defenses at the trial or
when a lawsuit is barred by limitation, it can be dismissed by the court of law. There are different stages
in a litigation process in the common law jurisdiction, which are as follows:

• Pleading

• Discovery

• Trial

• Resolution of dispute

• Appeal

• Enforcement

A lawsuit starts with a written complaint or petition filed in the court of law with competent jurisdiction.
This process is called pleading. Discovery process in litigation is a pre-trial process, which allows the
parties to the lawsuit to obtain evidence from the other party by way of interrogatories, admissions,
depositions and production of documentations. Trial is a process where the evidences produced by the
parties to the lawsuit are formally examined in the court of law so that the jury can decide the guilt in a
case of civil or criminal litigation. Based on the facts and evidences produced as per the law the dispute
is resolved by the court. Once the court pronounces the final judgment, the aggrieved party may go for
appeal to the higher court. In case the party fails to comply with the order of the court in a lawsuit other
party must file another suit in the court of competent jurisdiction to seek enforcement of the other
court’s previous judgment.

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