procedure legal definition

A specific course of action; the machinery by which a suit is carried on; the mechanics of the legal process; written rules for legal proceedings, whether criminal or civil, codified in rule books such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

A procedure to determine the rights of the parties, as distinguished from a criminal procedure.

The process by which the government imposes penalties for criminal behavior through the devices of arrest, trial, and punishment of the convicted criminal.