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Concepts and definitions

Accused

A party for whom punishment is sought in a court of justice on the basis of a suspected offence. The accused person can also be called the defendant.

Appellant

An appellant, where the mode of seeking reconsideration is by way of regular appeal.

Case processing time

Case processing time refers to the time elapsed until the case has been decided. The time is counted from the day the case was filed to the day of the decision.

Civil matter

Civil matters are disputes between private persons or enterprises which are settled impartially in a court of justice. Civil matters may deal with compensation for damages, annulment of purchase or validity of contracts. District Courts also decide on undisputed demands for payment and evictions.

Petitionary matter

A petitionary matter is a matter in which a court's authorisation is requested for some action or the listing of some action into a public register. A petitionary matter is instituted by way of petition or notification. Petitionary matters are resolved at the office of a district court if no-one opposes the petition or, if the parties disagree, in a district court hearing.

Work account

The work account refers to cases pending during the year. It shows cases transferred from the previous year, cases which have arrived during the year, solved cases, and cases transferred to the following year. Cases transferred from the previous year have been instituted before the statistical year. Cases transferred to the following year have arrived during the statistical year or earlier and have not been decided yet.