People that are not familiar with law terms tend to get confused between these two laws even though they are entirely two different things with only one thing in common: serving justice. Criminal law in the United States is placed under parliament to ensure the whole society is protected. The law is meant to prevent conduct breaches that can negatively affect the whole society.

Breaking any of these laws can lead to facing prosecution including proceedings prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Services on behalf of the state in either Crown Court or Magistrates Court. 

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Individuals convicted for breaking a criminal law will face prison sentences, a community order or fine. The duration and time of service depend on the severity of the crime, records, age, and flea. To be found guilty, a standard of proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt which the Jury or magistrate will consider before making a decision. Some examples of these offences include murder and slaughter, sexual offenses, supply or possession of drugs, and fraud. 

Civil law on the other hand focuses on a system of rules and regulations concerning private relationships between society members. It includes cases against individuals, companies, and states. Unlike criminal law, being found guilty of civil offences might not necessarily take you to prison but you may be required to pay compensation or forfeit certain rights or make right a wrong. 

Even though civil offense might not take you to prison, it can affect your family, home and finances and it’s possible to deal with the case outside the courtroom for instance through a third-party mediator. Proving a civil case must be on the balance of probability which is a lower proof standard compared to criminal offense. 

Some examples of civil matters are breach of contract, negligence, family law like divorce and child arrangement and personal injuries. Let’s explore the two laws in a broader perspective and the differences between them. 

Cases

Case usually begins in civil law after a party files a complaint which may be an individual, company, corporation, or organization against another party. The party complaining is called plaintiff and the responding party is called defendant and the whole process is called litigation. 

In civil litigation, the plaintiff is requesting the court to order the defendant to correct the wrongdoings often in the form of monetary compensation. Criminal law in contrast the case is filed by the government usually called State and is represented by a prosecutor against the defendant. 

This case can never be filed by an individual against another person. It only works by a person reporting a crime and the government will file criminal charges in the court. The crime punishments are divided into two categories based on the seriousness of the charges, felonies which a person might have a possible sentence of more than a year, incarceration or misdemeanors having a sentence of one year or less. 

Punishment

In cases of criminal offence, a person that is found guilty may face prison, fine or in some situations death penalty. In contrast, in cases of civil offenses, the offender may be required to reimburse the victim the amount of loss which is usually determined by the judge and is known as punitive damage. And this is another notable difference between criminal law vs civil law; punishment. A criminal litigation is more serious than civil litigation because the defendant of a criminal offence has more rights and protection than a civil defendant. 

Burdens of Proof

In the cases of criminal law, the burden of proof normally is with the government, it’s the government that will provide whether the defendant is guilty or not which is different in civil law where the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff and the defendant has the right to refute the evidence.

 In civil litigation cases, if the judge or jury believes that there is more than 50% evidence that favors the plaintiffs, the plaintiff then wins the case which is very little compared to 99% proof required for a criminal offence. In criminal law cases, the defendant will not be declared guilty until there is at least 99% proof of evidence. 

Visit here: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/public-information/how-do-i-find-a-lawyer-/ to learn how to find the right lawyer for your case. 

How the system works

You can say that criminal law is after the government’s interest because it deals with punishing and rehabilitating offenders as well as protecting society. The government hires the police and prosecutors to effectively execute criminal laws. The services are paid with public funds. If for instance you are a victim of this crime, you will report it to the police whose duty is to investigate the matter and look for the suspect and that’s the only thing you need to do. 

In most situations, if a charge is property presented with enough evidence to support the government, not the individual that lays the complaints of the incidents will prosecute it in the court. This is called a public prosecutions system. Civil law is quite different from this because it’s all about private disruption between individuals or organizations and it doesn’t involve the government. It deals with harm, loss, or injury to the other party. A civil case defendant is either found liable or not liable to the damage which in criminal cases the defendant may either be found guilty or not. 

Conclusion

Criminal and civil law are two rules and regulations that govern the peace of a society, while criminal offenses are handled by the government not the person that lays the complaints, civil law is a private matter between individuals and individuals or individuals and organizations, companies, or agencies. Criminal offense punishment is either a felony that requires that offender to spend one or more years in prison or misdemeanors or incarcerations where the person will spend less than a year. Civil law is usually solved by the offender providing compensation to the victims.