To understand the different kinds of laws are very important in any judicial system. How civil law is different from criminal law. The civil law is different form criminal law in term of provision and punishment.
Criminal law:-
Criminal law is a branch of law which concerns crimes which are committed against the public authority. It is distinct from civil law and its provision for punishment is also different which involves crimes which people commit against each other, not necessarily against the public as a whole. Murder, for example, is covered under criminal law, because although there is a specific victim, murder in general runs against the interests of the public. By contrast, if someone fails to honor a contract, this is a matter for civil law.
In criminal law, a guilty defendant is punished by either (1) incarceration in a jail or prison, (2) fine paid to the government, or, in exceptional cases, (3) execution of the defendant: the death penalty. Crimes are divided into two broad classes: felonies have a maximum possible sentence of more than one year
Incarceration, misdemeanors have a maximum possible sentence of less than one year incarceration.
Criminal law, also termed as Penal law, encompasses the rules and statutes written by Congress and state legislators dealing with any criminal activity that causes harm to the general public, with penalties. It also covers criminal procedure connected with charging, trying, sentencing and imprisoning defendants convicted of crimes. It regulates how suspects are investigated, charged and tried.
Criminal law is typically enforced by the government. The state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit. Criminal law encompasses Substantive Criminal law; Criminal Procedure; and the special problems in administration and enforcement of criminal justice.
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Civil law
Civil law seeks to resolve non-criminal disputes such as disagreements over the meaning of contracts, property ownership, divorce, child custody, and damages for personal and property damage. A civil court is a place where people can solve their problems with people peacefully. The function of civil law is to provide a legal remedy to solve problems. Sometimes civil law is based on a state or federal statute; at other times civil law is based on a ruling by the court.
TYPES OF CIVIL CASES
Civil law covers a wide spectrum of topics. Some of these topics are:
consumer law
international law
agricultural law
employment law
animal law
entertainment law
business law
family law
sports law
tax law
Intentional torts such as libel, slander, defamation of character, battery and assault.
negligence
In contrast, a defendant in civil litigation is never incarcerated and never executed. In general, a losing defendant in civil litigation only reimburses the plaintiff for losses caused by the defendant’s behavior.
So-called punitive damages are never awarded in a civil case under contract law. In a civil case under tort law, there is a possibility of punitive damages, if the defendant’s conduct is egregious and had either (1) a malicious intent (i.e., desire to cause harm), (2) gross negligence (i.e., conscious indifference), or (3) a willful disregard for the rights of others. The use of punitive damages makes a public example of the defendant and supposedly deters future wrongful conduct by others. Punitive damages are particularly important in torts involving dignitary harms (e.g., invasion of privacy) and civil rights, where the actual monetary injury to plaintiff(s) may be small.
One can purchase insurance that will pay damages and attorney’s fees for tort claims. Such insurance coverage is a standard part of homeowner’s insurance policies, automobile insurance, and insurance for businesses. In contrast, it is not possible for a defendant to purchase insurance to pay for his/her criminal acts.