The Difference between Criminal Law and Civil Law

Law:

Law defines as the idea of a set of rules established by authority, government or society.

Differences between criminal and civil law:

Generally speaking the main difference between criminal and civil law is, criminal law involves police and civil law involves conflicts between people where no police involve.

Definition:

Criminal law is concerned with the relationship between the individual and the general public, criminal actions like motoring offences, robbery, assault etc are usually brought by the region. The main function of criminal proceedings is to punish the offender.

Criminal justice system:

The criminal justice system is one of the very major public service in the society. There are many agencies who work together under criminal justice system; some of these are police, the courts, the prison service, the crown prosecution service and the national probation service. The work of these agencies is over looked by three government departments which are the home office, the attorney general office and the department of constitutional affairs. All these departments and agencies are work together to improve the criminal justice system in order to:

- Prevent crime.

- Give victims and witnesses more support.

- Punish offenders.

Generally progress through the criminal justice process is very time consuming and complicated, in some situations cases could take more than a year before they approach to decision.

Many cases start off with the defendant first contact to police. The contribution of police in criminal justice system is very important because police got the responsibility of arresting criminal, gathering evidence and investigating crimes. Police officer has the power to ask general public questions at any time, but it depends on the public if they want to answer or not because police cannot force them until they are arrested.

Arrest:

They are two types of arrest situations:

- Arrest with a warrant.

- Arrest without a warrant.

Arrest with a warrant:

Generally warrant is a written permission, which is used as a proof in arresting situation. The warrant contains the name of the suspect and the offence he or she has committed. The police apply to magistrate court for a warrant to arrest a suspect. The magistrate court has a power of refusing police by not issuing a warrant but if it does issue a warrant against suspect than a police officer can conduct the arrest.

Arrest without a warrant:

Majority of the arrests in uk are carried out without a warrant. Police can arrest anyone at anywhere if they find the suspect suspicious, violent to public and about to commit a crime or responsible for any arrestable crime. The main arrestable crimes are:

- Any offence which parliament has declared to be arrested.

- Any crime for which an adult may get sentenced for imprisonment.

- Fixed sentenced crimes e.g. Murder.

Caution:

A caution can be given when police found a sufficient evidence for a conviction and it is not considered to be in the public interest to institute criminal proceedings. In addition to caution an offender must admit guilt and consent to a caution in order for one to be given.

Cautions commonly given by senior police officers and they mostly used for the young people and first time offenders.

Charge:

If there is enough evidence of guilt and none of the above options are appropriate and available, the police will formally charge the suspect.

When an offender is charge, the law requires that they are brought before a magistrate's court as soon as possible. There are three main methods of ensuring the defendant attends court:

- The first is that they have been held in custody by the police to appear as soon as possible.

- They may have been released on bail to attend court.

- A person may be summoned to appear in court.

Bail:

Bail means a person is free until the next stage in the process of their case. It is very important for the custody officer to decide whether the defendant should stay in custody or released on bail after he has been charged. In some cases a defendant can be released on bail before charge, this is because in some cases police need time to gather more evidence. The police may sometime apply conditions on the bail that they give. The commonly used conditions are:

- Surrender of passport.

- Report to the police station at regular intervals.

These conditions are just general examples these may be vary depending on the offences an offender has committed.

Legal aid:

Criminal legal aid is provided by the government which pays for the services of the lawyer selected by the accused person in cases where they cannot afford to pay for themselves. It is for courts to decide whether legal aid should be granted. Currently, this decision is based on an assessment of the person's ability to pay for their defence and on whether the provision of help is in the interests of justice. A judge can order a defendant to pay some or all of the defence costs at the end of the case.

Magistrates court:

Magistrate court can also be called"petty sessions" because it hears petty - small offences.

The structure of magistrate court:

The clerk of the court will always be an experienced solicitor or barrister.

He or she is there to guide the magistrates on questions of law and procedure, but the clerk is not allowed to interfere in anyway with the magistrate's decision of the case.

Because the magistrates are not qualified lawyers, so the clerk must be legally qualified in order to properly assist and advise the magistrate.

Crown court:

Crown court is a bit bigger than magistrate court and only serious offences are tried in crown court. Usually trails are given in crown court this is just to make sure that a right decision can be made at the end of the proceedings, these trials take place with a judge and jury.

The types of offences a crown court deals with are:

- Indictable-only offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery;

- Either way offences transferred from the magistrates' court;

- Appeals from the magistrates' court;

- Sentencing decisions transferred from the magistrates' court. This can happen if magistrates decide, once they have heard the details of a case that it warrants a tougher sentence than they are allowed to impose.

If the defendant is found not guilty, they are discharged and no conviction is recorded against their name.

Verdict:

In law, a verdict is the judgment of a case before a court of law. The term literally means "to speak the truth" and is derived from middle english verdit, from anglo-norman: a compound of ver ("true," from the latin vērus) and dit ("speech," from the latin dictum, the neuter form of dīcere, to tell or to speak).

Sentence:

In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime.

Summary offences:

By definition, a summary offence is dealt with in the magistrates' court but the crown court may also deal with a summary offence onn the following circumstances:

- When an alternative verdict is returned under the road traffic offenders act 1988.

- It may take a guilty plea and sentence for a summary offence if the criminal justice act 1988 s.41 or crime and disorder act 1998 s apply.

- It may dismiss the summary offence if the prosecution offer no evidence under cja 1988 s.41.

Magistrates court:

Magistrate court can also be called"petty sessions" because it hears petty - small offences.

The structure of magistrate court:

The clerk of the court will always be an experienced solicitor or barrister. He or she is there to guide the magistrates on questions of law and procedure, but the clerk is not allowed to interfere in anyway with the magistrate's decision of the case. Because the magistrates are not qualified lawyers, so the clerk must be legally qualified in order to properly assist and advise the magistrate.

Crown court:

Crown court is a bit bigger than magistrate court and only serious offences are tried in crown court. Usually trails are given in crown court this is just to make sure that a right decision can be made at the end of the proceedings, these trials take place with a judge and jury.

The types of offences a crown court deals with are:

- Indictable-only offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery;

- Either way offences transferred from the magistrates' court;

- Appeals from the magistrates' court;

- Sentencing decisions transferred from the magistrates' court. This can happen if magistrates decide, once they have heard the details of a case that it warrants a tougher sentence than they are allowed to impose. If the defendant is found not guilty, they are discharged and no conviction is recorded against their name.

Verdict:

In law, a verdict is the judgment of a case before a court of law. The term literally means "to speak the truth" and is derived from middle english verdit, from anglo-norman: a compound of ver ("true," from the latin vērus) and dit ("speech," from the latin dictum, the neuter form of dīcere, to tell or to speak).

Sentence:

In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime.

Summary offences:

By definition, a summary offence is dealt with in the magistrates' court but the crown court may also deal with a summary offence onn the following circumstances:

- When an alternative verdict is returned under the road traffic offenders act 1988.

- It may take a guilty plea and sentence for a summary offence if the criminal justice act 1988 s.41 or crime and disorder act 1998 s apply.

- It may dismiss the summary offence if the prosecution offer no evidence under cja 1988 s.41.

The summary offences includes motoring offences in where a fixed penalty can be issued, also includes such offences as common assault and criminal damage up to ,000.

Indictable offences:

These offences are the most serious breaches of the criminal law and must be tried at the crown court. These 'indictable-only' offences include murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery.

Each-way offence:

These offences may be tried either at the Crown Court or at a magistrates' court. These offences include criminal damage where the value is ,000 or greater, theft, burglary and drink driving.

Definition:

Civil Law is a law that deals with disputes between individuals or organisations. For example, a car crash victim claims damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, or one company sues another over a trade dispute. Unlike criminal offences, the Crown Prosecution Service doesn't prosecute a civil offence. Rather than any sentence, custodial or otherwise, the end result is usually financial compensation. Civil Law has developed in a similar way to the way criminal law has, through a mixture of Statutory Law made by governments, and 'precedent' which is created by earlier cases.

Key Concepts Of Civil Law:

- Civil law exists to resolve disputes between companies or individuals.

- Civil law has its own civil courts.

- Civil law has many divisions each dealing with a specialised branch of law.

- The main purpose of civil law is financial redress (compensation).

- The parties involved in civil law are called plaintiff and defendant.

Difference Between Civil And Criminal Law:

One crucial difference between Civil and Criminal law is that the 'burden of proof' is lower in a civil case. A criminal case must be proved 'beyond reasonable doubt.' A civil case only has to be proved on the balance of probabilities,' i.e. it is likely that the defendant is guilty.

The OJ Simpson trial in America is a classic example. The criminal trial hadn't proved 'beyond reasonable doubt' that he had murdered his wife, yet a subsequent civil trial decided that on the 'balance of probabilities' he had. As a result, the victim's family was awarded compensation, but in the criminal case, Simpson wasn't found guilty of murder, so he wasn't jailed. Civil actions aren't always successful though. The family of Stephen Lawrence brought a civil action against those suspected of his murder. Although the 'burden of proof' was lower than in a criminal trial the men were once again acquitted when crucial identification evidence was ruled to be inadmissible.

Other Areas Covered By Civil Law Are:

- Property - boundary disputes, trespass

- Work-related disputes - unfair dismissal, personal injury

- Defamation of character - The Neil Hamilton v Mohammed Al Fayed case is one example

- Consumer disputes - Faulty goods, 'trades description' offences

- Copyright or Intellectual Property disputes - Music sampling, plagiarism (copying someone else's material and passing it off as your own)

Divorce Courts:

Divorce court defines as a court having jurisdiction over the termination of marriage contracts, divorce cases are dealt under civil law and divorce court is a part of a civil law.

County Courts:

The County Courts are the first contact most people have with the civil law process in England. Like Magistrate court that deal with majority of criminal cases, the county court deals with most of the civil cases, related to family or property law e.g. divorce or disputes over land.

Other Facts About County Court:

- The Court was established in 1846.

- It processes most minor civil law matters.

- There are over 230 County Courts in the UK.

- It deals with property cases up to ,000.

- And personal injury claims less than ,000.

Court Judgements:

Court judgement defines as court decision after the court hearing, for instance in county courts a judge may issue an order of repaying the debt if the defendant found liable. This order is called a CCJ and will either be for the amount agreed between the defendant and the creditor or, if the defendant can't agree than a payment set by the court.

Compensation For Libel:

Compensation for libel means how much a person is liable to pay in term of damaged which he or she has caused to other person's property, or could be physical damage as well.

Differences Between Common Law And Statue Law:

The main big difference between a common law and statue law is, common law is a man made law which developed by the decisions judges made in important cases through time to time, and statue law is a law formally written down and recorded in an act of parliament.

Common Law Brief History & Henry 11's Introduction Of Independent Judges:

The legal system that we know now began its development during the Norman conquest of 1066, but it really began to become an organised system during the reign of Henry 11(1154-1189). When Henry came to the throne, justice was usually dealt with in local courts:

Feudal courts: local lords dealing with issues arising from the peasantry or tenants on their land. Courts of the Shires and Hundreds: County Sheriffs often sitting with a bishop or Earl to hear more serious cases. According to most sources of information these early courts operated on local customs and as we would expect these customs often different from country to country. There was a lack of consistency in the law of the time which meant that courts in different areas might settle the same dispute in entirely different ways. Henry 11 wanted a more standardised system of law in England and so he introduced the "General Eyre" which means "a journey". This General Eyre created a system whereby representatives of the king went out of the countries of England to check on their legal administration. They would sit in local courts and listen in to how the legal problems of the time were dealt with. Over time these representatives of the King came to be seen as judges themselves and were called "Justice in Eyre". The General Eyre disappeared around 200 years later and was replaced with a system of circuit judges from which our current high court developed.

By selecting the best local laws from all over the country the judges gradually changed differing local laws into a system of law which was "common" to the entire kingdom which is how common law originated.

Common Law Over Time:

Prior to 1066 ------------ local customs of the time, these varied from place to Place.

1066 - 15th- common law developed from the General Eyre &

Century become "common" across the country.

15th century - end - common law & equity. Initially in conflict,

Of 19th century these two bodies of law became mutually tolerant.

20th century 1973 - primary source of law is statute law, also called legislation or Acts of parliament. 1973 current - UK statute law & sometimes law from the

European Union. This change came about because the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973.

Other Key Facts About The Common Law:

Common law began its development during the reign of Henry11.

It established a unified system of law which was common to the whole country. Common law is based on judge's decisions in important cases which are then used by other judges as a standard to follow in future cases. Common law began to share power with equity in the fifteenth century. From the nineteenth century common law began to be replaced by statute law.

Concept Of Precedent:

Decision made by a judge in a particular case are "blinding" on the decision of future judges when the fact or same. This procedure is known as "judicial precedent" which is a very important part of the common law in English legal system. Concept of precedent is based on the Latin saying "stare decisis et non quieta movere" which means "standby what has been decided and do not change the established". The English legal system follows the rules of judicial precedent very rigidly while comparing with other countries, this means the courts in England and Wales must fallow decisions already made in higher or superior courts.

Common Law Offence (Criminal):

An example of common law criminal offence is a married couple had separated, but the husband forced his way into his wife's home and forced her to have non-consensual intercourse with him. Up until this time the common law rule was that a husband could not be criminally liable for raping his wife as the woman's marriage vows constituted ongoing consent for sexual relations. The judge in RVR1991 recognised the changed attitudes of society towards the status of women and created judicial precedent which outlined that all non-consensual intercourse was rape regardless of martial status.

Common Law Offence (Civil):

An example of common law civil offence is the right of the eldest son to inherit his fathers land known as "primogeniture" was almost universally applied across England, but if a person lived in Nottingham or Bristol the youngest son inherited the land. If a person lived in Kent all of the landowner's sons inherited the land in equal share Statute Law is defined as a form of written statements that are passed by parliament, i.e. Acts of Parliament.

Key Concept Of The Statute Law:



Statute law is made by parliament.



It can abolish and replace common law.



A bill is a proposal for a piece of legislation.



There are three kinds of bills-public, private and private members bills.



Bills are approved by a seven stage procedure concluding with royal assent.



The monarch has not refused to sign a statute law since 1707.

Statute law is different from common in these following ways:



Created by parliament, not by judges.



It is not bound by judicial precedent.



It can abolish and replace common law.



It is formally recorded in an act of law.

Parliamentary Process:

The main functions of Parliament are to pass laws, to provide by voting for taxation - the means of carrying out the work of government, to scrutinise Government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure, and to debate the major issues of the day, the changes to statute law can only be made by Parliament.

Draft laws take the form of parliamentary Bills. Proposals for legislation affecting the powers of particular bodies (such as individual local authorities) or the rights of individuals (such as certain plans relating to railways, roads and harbours) are known as Private Bills and are subject to a special form of parliamentary procedure. Bills that change the general law, which make up the more significant part of the parliamentary legislative process, are called Public Bills. Public Bills can be introduced into either House, by a government minister or any MP or peer. Most Public Bills that become Acts of Parliament are introduced by a government minister. These are known as Government Bills. Bills introduced by other MPs or peers are known as Private Members Bills.

The main Bills forming the Government's legislative programme are announced in the Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, which usually takes place in November or shortly after a General Election. Before a Government Bill is drafted, there may be consultation with professional bodies, voluntary organisations and others with an interest. "White Papers', which are government statements of policy, often contain proposals for changes in the law. These may be debated in Parliament before a Bill is introduced. As part of the process of modernising procedures, some Bills are now published in draft for prelegislative scrutiny before beginning their passage through Parliament. The Government may also publish consultation papers, sometimes called 'Green Papers', setting out proposals that are still taking shape and inviting comments from the public.

• Monarch
• House Of Lords
• House Of Commons
• (Structure Of Statutory Law)
• Delegated Or Secondary Legislation

In order to reduce pressure on parliamentary time, Acts of Parliament often give government ministers or other authorities the power to regulate administrative details by means of 'delegated' or secondary legislation. This mostly takes the form of Orders in Council, Regulations and Rules known as Statutory Instruments (Sis). These are as much the law of the land as are Acts of Parliament. Sis are normally drafted by the legal department of the ministry concerned and may be subject, when in draft, to consultations with interested parties. About 3,000 Sis are issued each year. To minimise any risk that delegating powers to the executive might undermine the authority of Parliament, such powers are normally only delegated to authorities directly accountable to Parliament. The relevant Acts sometimes provide for some measure of direct parliamentary control over proposed delegated legislation, by giving Parliament the opportunity to affirm or annul it. Parliament always has the right to consider whether the SI is made in accordance with the powers that it delegated.

The House Of Lords

Delegated Powers Scrutiny Committee

The House of Lords has established procedures whereby all bills with delegating powers are examined before they begin their passage through the house. The Delegated Powers Scrutiny Committee (established in 1992) keeps under constant review the extent to which legislative powers are delegated by parliament to government ministers. There is an informal understanding in the Lords that, when the Committee has approved provisions in a bill for delegated powers, the form of those powers should not normally be the subject of debate during the bill's subsequent passage. The House of Commons has no equivalent committee.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Statutory Law:

Advantages:



Created by an elected body which represents the people.

 Law can be made on any subject at any time; parliament does not have to wait for a suitable case to arrive in front of it.

Created by a formal procedure which includes checks and balances to ensure the law

 is appropriate.

Disadvantages:



Can be difficult to interpret.

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Process can be time consuming and private members bills often fail.

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The political party in power can control the legislative process.

Examples Of Statute Law:

An example of the statute law was the dangerous dog's act 1991 and another recent example was the Bill to enable the construction of the Channel Tunnel.

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