What is Party (law)?
[[File:Eo-scale2.png|thumb|right|200px]] A '''party''' is a [[person]] or group of persons that make up a single [[Wikt:entity|entity]] for the purposes of the [[law]]. They are a participant in legal proceeding and have an interest in the outcome.<ref name=Law>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1461 |title=party |publisher=Law.com |access-date=18 November 2015}}</ref> Parties include: the [[plaintiff]], the [[defendant]], a [[petitioner]] or a [[respondent]].<ref name=Law/> They can also be a [[Complaint|cross-complainant]] (a defendant who sues someone else in the same lawsuit) or a cross-defendant (a person sued by a cross-complainant).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/party|title=Party - legal definition}}</ref> A person who only appears in the case as a [[witness]] is not considered a party. Courts use various terms to identify the role of a particular party in [[Civil law|civil]] [[litigation]]. They usually call the party that brings a lawsuit as the [[plaintiff]], or, in older [[United States|American]] [[legal case|cases]], the ''party of the first part''. The party against whom the case was brought as the [[defendant]], or, in older American cases, the ''party of the second part''. == Related pages == * [[Erga omnes]] * ''[[Ex parte]]'' [[proceeding]] * ''[[Inter partes]]'' proceeding * [[Intervention (law)]] ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Legal terms]]