Paginated
Numbered pages.
Civil Litigation
Part 36 offer
A formal offer of settlement under the Civil Procedure Rules.
Particulars of claim
The Claimant’s statement of case.
Parties
The claimant and the defendant are collectively known as the parties to the case. Individually, each is a party.
Penalty clause
A contractual clause that imposes a disproportionate monetary penalty on one party for breach of contract in order to obtain strict compliance by coercion. In contract law generally penalty clauses are void and unenforceable.
Personal service
Arranging for the documents to be handed over personally to the party concerned.
Pleadings, to plead
Pleadings are the documents that set out each party’s case (statements of case) and any additional information. To plead something is to put it into any of these documents.
Power of arrest
Where the police can arrest someone for breaching a court order.
Pre-action disclosure
Disclosure before proceedings have started.
Pre-action protocol
Procedure for initiating a civil claim.