Assault - Can One be Both Defendant and Complainant?

[Cairo]

Hi everyone,

I'm a translator from Turkey and, currently, I am translating a court paper involving assault and battery which needs to be translated into English. Since the document requires knowledge of legal/judicial terminology or of the legal system in Australia, I thought I could ask you guys if there is such a thing in Australian legal system, I mean, if one can be both, a defendant and a complainant in a case involving assault and battery? And, if so, what is the legal term for it?

I should add that the case involves a fight between two people.

 

[Scruff]

Assuming this is a civil matter, you might be looking for "plaintiff", "defendant" and "counter-claim".

The plaintiff files a claim against the defendant. The defendant then files a counter-claim against the plaintiff.

I'm not a lawyer, so probably best to wait for an expert to confirm or correct me - I know it's very important to get these things right when translating or transcribing documents.