Thesaurus

(n) : in a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based;
The purpose is to give notice to the adversary of the nature and basis of the claim asserted; in Criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer, usually a magistrate.
However, court proceedings, such as a trial, cannot be instituted until an indictment or information has been handed down against the defendant