civil and criminal law Flashcards
4 examples of civil law cases
Personal injury
Family disputes
Breach of contract
Employment law
4 examples of criminal law cases
Theft and burglary
Sexual assault
Murder and manslaughter
Fraud
civil law
claimant V defendant
- settle disputes and establishes whether the defendant had a responsibility or duty of care towards the claimant.
- results in an award of damages (a fine)
criminal law
R V defendant
- activities that UK Acts of Parliament have prescribed as either acceptable or unacceptable
- can result in prison or community service
3 differences between civil and criminal law
Unlike criminal law, civil relates to offences that harm another person and their rights or property.
Criminal law cases occur due to it having a negative impact on society as a whole rather than on a single individual like in civil law cases.
They have different standards of proof
who starts the case in civil and criminal law cases?
civil: claimant (person or business who suffered) brings the claim as a breach of civil law
criminal: prosecutor/the CPS (crown prosecution service) or the state
claimant
person bringing the claim
defendant
a person or group against whom a criminal or civil action is brought (someone who is being sued or accused of committing a crime)
what does the R in R V defendant stand for?
the crown prosecution services/state
standard of proof
the amount of evidence that is necessary and needed to prove a claim in a trial in court
what is the standard of proof for criminal cases?
must be proved beyond reasonable doubt (no doubt left in judges mind)
- they have this very high standard of proof due to the conviction possibly resulting in a prison sentence
what is the standard of proof for civil cases?
have to be proved on the balance of probabilities (more likely than not they’re liable)
- much lower standard of proof than criminal
why do civil and criminal cases have different standards of proof?
means that it’s possible for a defendant who’s been found not acquitted in a criminal case to be found liable in a civil case based on the same facts.
(uncommon for these cases to occur)
acquitted
to decide officially in a court of law that someone is not guilty of a particular crime
double liability
when the same incident is both under the civil and criminal law.
(e.g. driving badly and hurting a passenger due to being prosecuted for bad driving which is criminal and the injured person can claim against driver in civil courts)
