Defendant
The person against whom a civil claim or criminal prosecution is brought.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
In civil litigation, the term is defined precisely: under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, 'defendant' means a person against whom a claim is made.
In a criminal case, the defendant is the person the prosecution accuses of an offence. When the case reaches court, the defendant is asked to plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead not guilty, it is the prosecution's job to prove guilt from the evidence — the defence does not have to prove innocence, and the defendant does not have to give evidence if they don't want to.
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Official sources
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