General Issue in United Kingdom

Definition of General Issue

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of General Issue : A plea in which every allegation in the opposite party’s pleading is denied. In civil proceedings it is no longer permitted. Instead, each allegation must be specifically admitted or denied. In criminal cases the defendant pleads the general issue by pleading *not guilty and cannot generally be required to disclose the nature of his defence until his own case is presented (but see alibi).