2. According to the law of our country, in criminal proceedings, the party accused of a crime by the public prosecution agency is called the "defendant". However, in civil and commercial cases and administrative cases, the parties are called "defendants", and the party causing the lawsuit is called "plaintiff", which means that only in criminal cases can there be the title of "defendant".
Legal basis: Article 191 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). After the public prosecutor reads out the indictment in court, the defendant and the victim may state the crimes charged in the indictment, and the public prosecutor may interrogate the defendant. The victim, plaintiff, defender and agent ad litem of an incidental civil action may, with the permission of the presiding judge, put questions to the defendant. The judge can interrogate the defendant.