1. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English; Oxford at the Claredon Press
a’ction n. & v.t. …7. v.t. bring a legal action against.
2. Black’s Law Dictionary (Fifth Edition); West Publishing Co.
Page 26
Action. Conduct, behavior; something done; the condition of acting; an act or a series of acts.
Term in its usual legal sense means a suit brought in a court; a formal complaint within the jurisdiction of a court of law. Pathman Const. Co. v. Knox County Hospital Ass’n, Ind. App. 326 N.E.2D 844, 853.
The legal and formal demand of one’s right from another person or party made and insisted on in a court of justice. An ordinary proceeding in a court of justice by which one party prosecutes another for enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public prevention of a wrong or the punishment of a public offense. It includes all the formal proceedings in a court of justice attendant upon the demand of the right and its enforcement or denial by the court.
(Emphasis added throughout)
3. Corpus Juris Secundum, A Contemporary Statement of American Law; West Publishing Co.
Volume 1A Page 304
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b. Elements and Characteristics of Action
To constitute an action, ordinarily, there must be a legal proceeding in a court of justice by a plaintiff against a defendant, for a breach of primary duty owed by defendant with regard to a primary right possessed by a plaintiff.
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Page 305
In court. The term “action” is restricted to proceedings in a court of justice, and does not include non-judicial proceedings, such as the acts of a notary in taking and certifying an acknowledgement and this rule applies although the proceeding is before a court, but in a case in which the court does not act in a judicial capacity.
(Emphasis added throughout)
4. Wharton’s Law Lexicon (Fourteenth Edition) By A.S. Oppe; Stevens and Sons Limited- Sweet and Maxwell Limited Law publishers 1957
Page 22
Action, conduct, something done; also the form prescribed by Law for the recovery of onbe’s due, or the lawful demand of one’s right. Bracton (Bk. 3, cap.1) defines it:-Actio nihil aliud est quam jus prosequendi in judicio quod alicui debetur (An action is nothing less than the right of suing in a court of justice for which is due to someone.) Actions are divided into criminal and civil; criminal actions are more properly called prosecutions, and perhaps actions penal, to recover some penalty under statute, are properly criminal actions. There were formerly three classes of actions in England; personal actions, in which the plaintiff sought to recover a debt or damages from the defendant; real actions, in which he sought to establish his right to possession of land.
(Emphasis added)
5. Halsbury’s Laws of England (Third Edition); Butterworths
Vol I Para.1
An ‘action’ according to the legal meaning of the term is a proceeding by which one party seeks in a Court of justice to enforce some right against, or to restrain the commission of some wrong by, another party. More concisely it may be the ‘legal demand of a right,’ or ‘the mode of pursuing a right to judgment’. It implies the existence of parties, of an alleged right, of an alleged infringement of thereof (either actual or threatened) and of a court having the power to enforce such a right. In its wider meaning the term includes both civil and criminal proceedings; it was frequently so used by old writers.
(Emphasis added)
6. Words and Phrases (Permanent Edition); West Publishing Co.
Volume 2 Page 25
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A suit in nature of a creditor’s bill was an “action”. Citizens Savings & Trust Co. v. Burkhart, 26 Ohio Dec. 599, 12 Ohio N.P., N.S., 449.
An “action” in ordinary use, is simply a legal demand of one’s right. Jones Law Petition (Cleveland), 22 Ohio Dec. 599, 12 N.P., N.S., 619.
…
The word “action” in the act of 1876 is not to be taken in a technical sense, as corresponding with civil action under the Code of Civil Procedure, but rather as signifiying additional proceedings in the original action, authorized for the purpose of reviving a judgment. The application of the term “action” to a proceeding will not make it a “civil action”, under the Code of Procedure unless it has the same attributes and functions. Bartol v. Eckert , 33 N.E. 294, 297, 50, Ohio St. 31, 29 Wkly. Law Bull. 148
(Emphasis added)
7. Words and Phrases, Legally Defined (Second Edition) Edited by John B. Saunders; Butterworths 1969
Page 33
ACTION
An “action”, according to the legal meaning of the term, is a proceeding by which one party seeks in a court of justice to enforce some right against, or to restrain the commission of some wrong by, another party. More concisely it may be said to be the “legal demand of a right” or “the mode of pursuing a right of judgment.” It implies the existence of parties, of an alleged right, of an alleged infringement thereof (either actual or threatened), and of a court having power to enforce such right. In its wider meaning the term includes both civil and criminal proceedings. … It is however generally used in a more restricted or popular sense as denoting a civil action commenced by writ or plaint.
(Emphasis added)
8. The English and Empire Digest (1979 reissue); London Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Limited
Ref may be drawn to Volume 1(1) Page 3-83
Of particular interest would be Part III Who may Sue and be Sued page 48
9. K.J. Aiyar’s Judicial Dictionary (Thirteenth Edition); Butterworths India
Page 30
Action is “a generic term and means a litigation in a civil Court for the recovery of an individual right or redress of an individual wrong inclusive, in its proper sense of suits by the Crown.” [8 AC 353]
It is “a legal proceeding, whereby a person demands his rights which may be denied or infringed, and claims to have those rights enforced and to have his wrongs redressed”. [Per Devar J, in ILR 33 Bom 509]
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Page 31
A penal (action): Aims at some penalty or punishment by the party used, be it corporal or pecuniary. In general, the term ‘penal action’ implies only an action brought for the recovery of the penalties by statute, and denotes what is called a popular or more usually, a qui tam action.
A criminal (action): Or prosecutions are of a public nature and affect the whole community. They are litigated in the name of the King (or President) against one or more individuals accused of a crime.
action
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12. Law A judicial proceeding whose purpose is to obtain relief at the hands of a court.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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action
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6. (Law) Law
a. a legal proceeding brought by one party against another, seeking redress of a wrong or recovery of what is due; lawsuit
b. the right to bring such a proceeding
Source: Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
…
action - institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against; "He was warned that the district attorney would process him"; "She actioned the company for discrimination"
challenge - issue a challenge to; "Fischer challenged Spassky to a match"
expedite - process fast and efficiently; "I will try to expedite the matter"
litigate - engage in legal proceedings
Pakistani Case Law:
11. M/s. Bengal Wool House V. Stand Insurance Co.; 1989 CLC 839
Page 847
“An ‘action’ according to the legal meaning of the term, is a proceeding by which one party seeks in a Court of Justice to enforce some right against, or to restrain the commission of some wrong by another party. More concisely it may be said to be ‘the legal demand of right’, or ‘the mode of pursuing a right to judgment’...”
“The word ‘action’ means any proceeding by which a claim, complaint or proceeding for obtaining relief is filed before any court.”
12. M/s Alexander.G. Tsavliris versus M V Rice Traders; 1985 CLC 1355
Page 1360
“In my view the word action means any process by which jurisdiction of the Court is invoked and process of law is set in motion or interrupted. It has a wide meaning and used in a generic sense to include law suit, application, petition or resorting to any proceedings in a Court of Law for the enforcement of any right or claim entertained in law. Having understood the general meaning of the word ‘action’ it is to be considered in what sense it has been in the Ordinance.
Page 1361
Word ‘action’ in S.3(2) (i) (in “Admiralty Jurisdiction of High Courts Ordinance XLII of 1980”) refers to suit, application, petition or any proceeding by which a party invokes jurisdiction of Admiralty Court or sets in motion process of law or intervenes in proceedings for obtaining relief or making any claim in respect of causes, questions and matters which fall within the admiralty jurisdiction of Court provided in Ordinance, 1980”
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