judgment

Law

2022

We explain what a trial is in Law, how it is governed and who intervenes. In addition, the characteristics of each type of trial.

A trial is a public procedural act.

What is a trial?

In right and legal sciences, a judicial discussion is called a trial between the parties involved in a conflict of interest, subject to arbitration, that is, to mediation, of a court of Justice. These types of events are common in the legal life of any nation and they are always governed by the provisions of the current legal system, within the legal, official and legitimate framework.

Lawsuits are, in the first instance, a way of resolving a conflict within the framework of the laws that govern and define the society. That is, they are a way of peaceful and formal resolution of a dispute, in which the parties involved have adequate representation and can present their respective points of view, waiting for the institution what does he hold power of attorney came to a conclusion, that is, to exercise justice.

The word judgment comes from Latin iudicium, translatable as "verdict", and composed in turn by the words ius ("Law") and dicare ("indicate"). While this refers to the jurisprudence, that is, the act of deciding what is in accordance with the law and pointing it out, when speaking in general terms of the law, judgment is considered as synonymous of legal process.

In other words, the public procedural act is called "trial", in which a court welcomes the accusing and defending parties, and establishes the bases for the resolution of the dispute.

Any trial must be carried out before the appropriate bodies of the judiciary of a Condition, whose jurisprudence or decision-making capacity in the matter is adequate and at the same time the guarantor that the resolution of the conflict is as close as possible to what is established by law. In a trial, of whatever type, two clearly differentiated actors intervene:

  • The parties, which are the parties in dispute, whose inability to resolve their problems in a fair way leads to a fair trial. These parties are usually two: the plaintiff or plaintiff, who is the one who demands the intervention of justice; and the defendant exercising her right to defend herself. They can be natural people or from organizations (through their spokespersons or legal representatives), and each one usually has its own witnesses and evidence to argue in its favor.
  • The judge, who is the person authorized by the State to exercise jurisprudence on its behalf, given its knowledge of the laws and his proven track record in managing the judicial institution. These are part of a hierarchical structure of judges and justice ministers that range from those who attend neighborhood disputes to the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice. In some cases and court systems, judges are often accompanied by a jury, made up of citizens chosen at random to accompany the judge's work and reach a public decision regarding a conflict.

Types of judgment

Trials can be of different types, depending on the way they are held (for example, oral and written, depending on whether the parties intervene in person or if everything is handled through documentation), or depending on the branches of law involved in the search for a just solution. In the latter case, we can differentiate between:

  • Criminal trial, when the trial is held to respond to a crime public or a fault on the part of a third party, in such a way that it is considered a crime punishable by law, and that merits compensation to the victims and a punishment by the State to the criminals. These lawsuits are usually about homicides, robberies, scams, etc.
  • Civil lawsuit, when the parties go to the State to decide on matters of their civic life, both public and private, in the hope that a situation will legally change or that the other party will be forced to carry out some type of action. . An example of these lawsuits are the claims of divorce, of nullity of contract or claims for damages, among others.
  • Contentious-Administrative Lawsuit, when one of the defendants is the State itself or one of its institutions or organizations, and the plaintiff is a natural or legal person who considers that the operation of the State has violated their rights or has been improper. These trials usually occur when the administrative channels have already been exhausted, as a last instance of justice for the citizen before the state machinery. Examples of them are claims of nullity of administrative measures, or lawsuits for corruption, among others.
  • Labor lawsuit, when the relationship submitted to the discretion of the State is of a labor nature, that is, it has to do with the work, professional activity or social security of the workers. These types of procedures are always public and, logically, one of the parties involved is usually the employer, and the other the employees or their union or representative bodies. Examples of this type of lawsuit are claims for unjustified dismissal, labor inspections, and malpractice lawsuits, among others.
!-- GDPR -->