Introduction Procedural law is the law which governs the conduct of proceedings before the court –“the mode of proceeding by which a legal right is enforced, as distinguished from the law which gives or defines the right – Poyser v Minors (1881) Civil Procedures = primarily a process for the resolution of civil disputes JA Jolowicz:  Purposes of procedural law are restricted to the provision of the institutions and rules of procedure best fitted to the fair, economical and expeditious adjudication of disputes which the parties choose to submit to the court.  Process focuses on individual disputes  Process of litigation as a whole has two other distinct but connected purposes: “First, civil proceedings serve to demonstrate the effectiveness of the law; secondly they provide the opportunity for the judges to perform their function of interpreting, clarifying, developing and, of course, applying the law.