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)
which court is used in the hearing of civil cases?
high court or county court
which court is used in the hearing of criminal cases?
magistrate court or crown court
who makes the decision in civil and criminal cases and what is the decision?
civil: the judge, liable or not liable
criminal: guilty or not guilty,
in magistrate courts = the magistrates and in crown court = judge & jury
what is a crime?
conduct that is forbidden by the state which comes with a punishment
where do we get the definitions of crimes from?
statutes (acts of parliament) and case law
burden of proof
A party’s duty to produce sufficient evidence to support an allegation or argument.
