In most litigation under the common law adversarial system the defendant, perhaps with the assistance of counsel, may allege or present defenses (or defences) in order to avoid liability, civil or criminal. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive The adversarial system (or adversary system) of law is the system of law generally adopted in Common law countries that relies on the skill of each advocate A defendant or defender ( Δ in Legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the Complaint of a Plaintiff A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person

A defendant will often contest the accuracy of the allegations made against him or her in a criminal indictment or in a civil complaint. A defense, by contrast, does not depend on refuting such allegations. Instead, a defense introduces new matter, arguing that, even if the allegations against the defendant are true, the defendant is entitled to prevail for some other reason.

Civil law defenses

In common law civil practice affirmative defenses are presented to limit or avoid liability; they are numerous and include:

• Lack of personal or subject matter jurisdiction of the court, such as diplomatic immunity
• Failure to state a cause of action or other insufficiencies of pleading
• Statute of limitations, statute of frauds, and other defenses conferred by statute
• Ex turpi causa non oritur actio
• Volenti non fit injuria

Defense against an attacker

Note that apart from this defense against prosecution and liability, there is also defense against an attacker, which can be a legal justification, see self defense and defense of others, defense of property. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive An affirmative defense is a category of defense used in Litigation between private parties in Common law Jurisdictions, or more familiarly Personal jurisdiction in United States law refers to a court's power over a particular defendant ( In personam jurisdiction or an item of property Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a Court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments which ensures that Diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not In the law a cause of action (sometimes called a claim) is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue In Law as practiced in countries that follow the English model a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a Court by parties in a Civil action A statute of limitations is a Statute in a Common law Legal system that sets forth the maximum period of time after certain events that legal proceedings The statute of frauds refers to the requirement that certain kinds of Contracts be made in writing and signed In civil law, especially Contract law, ex turpi causa non oritur actio is the doctrine that an action may not be founded on illegality Volenti non fit injuria ( Latin: "to a willing person no injury is done" or "no injury is done to a person who consents" is a Common law The right of self-defense (also called alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for civilians acting on their The defence of property is a possible justification used by defendants who argue that they should not be held liable for the loss and injury they have caused because they were acting

See also

• Absolute defense (legal)