What a court case is about
A primary function of the law is to decide competting claims between citizers.In this country,resolution of legal conflicts generally takes place in a legal “battle” between those citizens.We call this a court case,or a case.Before we go any further into this book,we should discuss the meaning of some fundamental terms.Lawyers sometimes call a legal case an action or a matter .When a case is argued or dealt with in court, this is called a bearing.
When we talk abourt the jurisdiction of a court , we mean the range of legal cases which that court can hear.A court’s jurisdiction can be criminal , civil , appellate or administrative.
The civit jurisdiction has an obvious meaning:matters of civil law as opposed to crimes.This would include contracts, torts and the law of succession.The plaintiff is the person who commences legal proceedings in a civil case.The other party is the defendant.The plaintiff usually begins civil proceedings by asking the court to issue a document.This document is known variously as a summons, a writ or a statement of claim.
The name of the plaintiff appears first in the name of a civil case .In smith v Jones,(pronounced “smith and Jones”),Smith would be the plaintiff and Jones the defendant.
The criminal jurisdiction of a court obviously relates to the type and range of criminal matters that the court can hear.In a criminal case,the “Crown” representing society,initiates proceedings.We call the accused person in a tril the accussed or the defendant.

【本人六级70分，法律英语略懂皮毛，试翻译之，仅供参考。】

什么是法庭诉讼？
法律的主要功能是定纷止争。在我国，当事人之间的法律争端通常是通过一场法律大战来解决的。我们称之为法庭诉讼，或者诉讼。在我们深入学习此书之前，我们需要了解一些基本的法律术语。律师通常称法庭诉讼为一场诉求或者诉讼关系。当案件到了法院进行辩驳和处理阶段，这称为应诉。
当我们谈到法院的权限时，我们其实说的是法院的受案范围。法院能够受理的案件包括刑事案件，民事案件，行政案件，还有上诉案件。
民事司法权有清楚的含义：与刑事犯罪相对应，它指的就是民法中的民事法律关系。包括，合同关系，侵权关系，法定继承关系。原告通常是民事诉讼程序的启动者，另外一方则是被告方。原告通过向法院递交书面文件来启动民事诉讼程序，这份文件视不同场合可能是传票，令状或者诉讼请求。
在民事案卷中出现在最前面的就是原告的名字。在史密斯对琼斯一案中，史密斯是原告，琼斯则为被告。
不同刑事法院的受诉范围也不一样，取决于刑事犯罪的种类和范围。在刑事诉讼中，皇权代表社会公众来启动诉讼程序。我们称被诉一方为受诉者或者被告。