adversary procedure, in law, one of the two methods of exposing evidence in court (the other being the inquisitorial procedure).

The adversary procedure requires the opposing sides to bring out pertinent information and to present and cross-examine witnesses. This procedure is observed primarily in countries in which the Anglo-American legal system of common law predominates, although, beginning in the late 20th century, several other countries adopted aspects of the adversary system. For example, Italy adopted procedures modeled on U.S. law, making the procedures at trial adversarial in character.

Under the adversary system, each side is responsible for conducting its own investigation. In criminal proceedings, the prosecution represents the people at large and has at its disposal the police department with its investigators and laboratories, while the defense must find its own investigative resources and finances. Both sides may command the attendance of witnesses by subpoena. If the defendant is indigent, his attorney’s opportunities for a broader investigation may be limited. In criminal law under the adversary system, the accused need not be present in grand jury indictment proceedings (no longer conducted in Great Britain and rarely used in many U.S. state courts). If an indictment is handed down by the grand jury, its proceedings, including the testimony and other evidence presented to it, are available to the defendant. Under civil law the adversary system works similarly, except that both plaintiff and respondent must prepare their own cases, usually through privately engaged attorneys.

In any adversary trial, the opposing sides present evidence, examine witnesses, and conduct cross-examinations, each in an effort to produce information beneficial to its side of the case. Skillful questioning can often produce testimony that can be made to take on various meanings. What seemed absolute in direct testimony can raise doubts under cross-examination. The skills of the attorneys are also displayed at the time of summation, especially in a jury trial, when their versions of what the jury has heard may persuade the jury to interpret the facts to the benefit of the side that is most persuasive.

In adversary proceedings before juries, the judge functions as moderator and referee on points of law, rarely taking part in the questioning unless he or she feels that important points of law or fact must be made clearer. In a bench trial (without a jury), the judge decides the facts of the case as well as points of law.