Adversarial review is the process by which some law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, hypothesis

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...

, or proposal

Research proposal

A research proposal is a document written by a researcher that describes in details the program for a proposed. It is like an outline of the entire research process that gives a reader a summary of the information discussed in a project....

 is review

Review

A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...

ed by its author's adversaries.

This is most often applied to the scientific community

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

, where outright criticism

Criticism

Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...

 is traded among scientists.

It is also often applied to legal structure

Structure

Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...

s, such as in having three branch

Branch

A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...

es of government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

 (executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

, legislative, judicial) which each have certain political power

Political power

Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...

 over the others, to create a system

System

System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....

 of checks and balances.

By being adversarial this form of review naturally requires a marked difference of opinion between the parties involved, or some other form of enmity. This can be useful in that the reviewing party will not be inclined to take any conclusion without solid proof, but can be less useful when the reviewing party take an irrational definition of a "solid" proof, based more on their opposition than the idea's merits.