What is a Statement of Claim? Legal Definitions Series

Welcome to the Legal Definitions Series, a set of short videos designed to explain the meanings of legal words, principles and laws simply, and give law students or non-lawyers a feel for how the mechanisms work and the thinking behind them!

Statements of Claim are Documents that are used to initiate litigation.

If you've ever wondered how things go from a dispute between two people or companies, to lawyers launching into epic speeches about justice and society at a podium while valiant music plays and flags ripple in the background, this is one of the ways how!

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Maybe my romanticised vision of a courtroom doesn't appeal to people who have been through the bitter and often disappointing reality of court battles, but the important part of this is statements of claim are often how they are started.

Lawsuits can also be started with summons and government bodies like the police have their own mechanisms for commencing court action, but Statements of Claim are probably the most common way private citizens can ask for the court's assistance.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this video constitutes legal advice, they are intended to give watchers enough information to carry on a casual conversation about law without needing to stop and ask what different terms mean, NOT as a springboard for legal arguments.

If are reading this to help understand legal advice you have been given, always ask the lawyer themselves for clarification if you didn't know the meaning of a word of concept they have mentioned because they may be using a different meaning or plan to apply the concept in a way that I have not covered.
All of the concepts described are broad and I intentionally do not give enough information to determine whether any of the ideas discussed will be explicable in any scenario, hypothetical or literal.