ATTONE. — In procedural law, this term (from Lat. actor) designates the party who brings another before a court, i.e., the party who first presents a judicial claim. The party against whom the claim is brought is instead called the defendant or respondent (from Lat. reus).
According to the CIC, anyone may act as the plaintiff, provided, of course, that they possess full procedural capacity (can. 1646); but, as a rule, no one is obliged to act as plaintiff unless compelled by a matter of public interest, such as, for example, the promotor of justice in criminal cases and sometimes in matrimonial cases. In any event, it is incumbent upon the plaintiff to prove, both in fact and in law, the sound foundation of their claim (can. 1748, § 1).
BIBL.: G. Chiovenda, Principi di diritto processuale. 3rd ed., Naples 1923, pp. 570 ff.; Wernz-Vidal VI, pp. 169 ff.; F. Roberto, De processibus, I, Rome 1941, pp. 534 ff.; F. Della Rocca, Istituzioni di diritto processuale canonico, Turin 1946, passim. Ferruccio Liuzzi