Final answer:
The term "proceedings" in the passage refers to legal cases and actions taken in the court system, particularly within the contexts of criminal and civil law disputes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term "proceedings" as used in the context of the given passage can be defined by two words: Cases and Actions. The passage explains that courts hear disputes that are either criminal or civil in nature. In criminal law, proceedings refer to the steps of a legal action where the government charges an individual with a crime, thereby initiating a case. In civil law, it describes the sequence of actions where a private party alleges harm or injury, which involves formal legal processes, thus making "actions" a fitting definition as well. These proceedings are formal events in the legal sense, but since the passage specifically discusses criminal and civil cases, options (C) Pursuits, (D) Events, and (E) Negotiations are less precise as definitions for the term "proceedings" in this context.