In law what does R vs R mean?

Bob

If the country has a Queen (as at moment) R = Regina (latin for Queen)
If the country has a King, R = Rex (latin for King)

R vs something is a formal way of describing a criminal trial. It basically means the "state/people vs" the defendant. So for a trial for theft committed by "John Smith" the trial would be named "R vs Smith"

In the case of R vs R is short for Regina vs Regina, or the state vs the state. It is quite rare and describes a case where one section of the government is prosecuting another.

For example, one case this may be used is the Health and Safety Executive prosecuting the police.

Civil trials such as when someone sues for negligence don't involve the state and are described as plaintiff (person bring trial) vs defandant. So if Mr Jones was Suing John Smith for injuries caused by him the trial would be described as "Jones vs Smith"

David H

It is from Latin... Regina is Latin for Queen, Rex is Latin for King. That offence would be dealt with as R vs Smith and others/Jones and others; usually the Principal offenders name would come first.

tiredboy

The first R will stand for Regina ( the queen ) the name after the Regina V is the defendant(s) in the case.

emanwelgwent

Usually, criminal cases are R (for Regina/Rex) v (defendants names).

There is one famous case called R v R, but probably not relevant just now.

R v R in this context is most likely to be the result of some sort of appeal by "judicial review" (instead of an ordinary appeal). It might also be a criminal case involving a minor defendant - in which case usually only their initial appears, and the initial might conincidentally be R.

With multiple defendants, the case is usually just called by the name of the first defendant e.g. R v Jones. Occassionally more than one name is included e.g. R v Malcherek and Steel, the case name might also have "others" or "another" appended instead of the extra names.

R is sometimes replaced in appeals and judicial reviews with the name of some other person - the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) - the Chief Constable of some police force etc.

krollohare2

Rex or Regina (king or queen) versus Respondent (the defendant, accused or civil defendant).

Usually when used as a "respondent" it is the government of England or a commonwealth seeking relief in the form of an injunction of some kind or some other commitment order for health or safety reasons (mental institution, drug or alcohol rehab, or domestic violence counseling).

Typically a petition is filed, a writ is issued if the petition is facially correct, and the crown's officers haul the respondent before a judge to determine if he or she shall respond and if so show cause why the relief should not be granted.

ken613uk

Surely,if the Crown is prosecuting, the case would be Rex v another.
If I saw it was going to be R v R I would be expecting a case where Mr Robinson is taking action against Mrs Robinson. In other words, the initials would be those of the two parties in the case

Tony

Firstly, note that it's not "vs" it's "v" - you might lose marks for that.

R v R is likely to be The Queen v a child whose name begins with R.

In England and Wales, every criminal offence is essentially committed against the Crown so it's the Crown who brings each case against a Defendant, hence R v Smith.

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