respondent

Legal Definition of respondent

Noun

1. The party that "responds to" a claim filed in court against them by a plaintiff. The more common term is defendant. The word is also used to refer to the party who wins at the first court level but who must then respond to an appeal launched by the party that lost the case at the first court level (upon appeal, this latter person is called the appellant).

Related terms

• defendant

Definition of respondent

Noun

respondent (plural respondents)

1. (law) person who answers for the defendant in a case before a court. In some legal systems, when one appeals a criminal case, one names the original court as defendant, but the state is the respondent.

Further reading

A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. In legal usage, this specifically refers to the defendant in a legal proceeding commenced by a petition, or to an appellee, or the opposing party, in an appeal of a decision by an initial fact-finder. In non-legal or informal usage, the term refers to one who refutes or responds to a thesis or an argument.