Definitions

A notice arrives at your flat in Andheri: the court has passed a decree against your neighbour, and he now has to hand back the flat he was occupying without right. A week later the same court passes an order refusing him more time. Both papers carry the court's seal, yet the law treats them differently, and the difference decides whether he can file an appeal as of right. Before the Code of Civil Procedure can tell you what to do with such papers, it has to say what each of them is. Section 2 does that job.

In two minutes

Section 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure is its dictionary: a decree is the court's conclusive, formal decision on the rights in the suit, an order is every other formal decision, and a judgment is the judge's statement of the grounds for either.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Civil Procedure Code 1908 and Limitation Act 1963 on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.