JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

(A VENTURE OF THE SEEDLING GROUP OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS)

GENERAL PRINCIPAL OF CRIMINAL LAW

SUBJECT -: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVIL LAW AND CRIMINAL LAW

(Date of submission –10 february 2018)

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Niharika mam Niraj kumar

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With immense please, I Mr. NIRAJ KUMAR .

presenting the assignment report as part of the curriculum of
subject (General principal of criminal law). I wish to thank all
the people to gave me support.

I express my profound thanks to faculty NIHARIKA MAM

all those who have indirectly guide and helped me in
preparation of this assignment.

Niraj kumar
(signature of the student )
 INDEX

Topics

1.Introduction of civil law

2.Introduction of criminal law

3.Criminal and civil procedure

4.Definition of civil and criminal law

5.Comperison chart

6.Conclusion
 Introduction to Civil Law

Civil law involves cases where there are private disputes

between individuals or parties that cannot be resolved outside the
court system. They do not involve or affect other members of society as
in criminal law. Torts, contracts and the law of negligence are integral
parts of civil law. These are defined below:

 Tort: An act of the legislature declaring, commanding, or prohibiting

something; a particular law enacted and established by the will of the
legislative department of government
 Contracts: An agreement between two or more persons which creates
an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing
 Negligence: The omission to do something which a reasonable person,
guided by those ordinary considerations which regulate human affairs
would do, or the doing of something which a reasonable and prudent
person would not do
The burden of proof in civil cases is on the “balance of probabilities”,
which means that it is more probable that one side is correct. The judge
or jury listen to both sides then they weigh the evidence and make a
decision.
Civil Court
A civil case is started by one party filing a claim in the court
against the other party and asking the court to decide the outcome.
This case would read differently from a criminal one in that it would be
the Plaintiff (Jones) versus the Defendant (Smith). The plaintiff is the
person starting the action or the one suing. The defendant is the person
who allegedly caused the problem.
A civil jury has eight members. The decision of this jury does not have
to be unanimous, as long as 75% or 6 out of 8 jurors agree after at least
three hours of deliberation. The penalties are usually monetary in the
form of a damage award.
Civil cases with a monetary claim of $25,000 or less are heard in Small
Claims Court. Cases with a claim of over $25,000 are heard in the
Supreme Court. The majority of civil cases are settled out of court.

Types of Civil Cases

Contract
Divorces
Custody
Contested wills and estates
Personal injury
 Introduction
Civil cases involve private disputes between individuals.
They are different from criminal cases in that they do not involve or
affect other members of society. This lesson will introduce students to
civil law, with a special focus on the law of negligence. Students will
also compare civil law to criminal law and look at different methods of
dispute resolution other than court. Though litigation is a traditional
process for settling disagreements, there are a number of other options
including negotiation, mediation, collaborative law and arbitration.

Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, students will:
 Understand that civil laws deal with unresolved conflicts between two
individuals or groups
 Understand that civil cases often involve torts such as negligence, as
well as contracts
 Know what some of the types of civil cases are
 Be able to compare and contrast civil law and criminal law
 Know that sometimes the same case can have both criminal and civil
counterparts
 Demonstrate a basic understanding of the pre-court process with
lawyers
 Demonstrate a basic understanding of the different methods for
dealing with disagreements
 Evaluate the appropriateness of different dispute resolution processes
in a variety of situations
 Gain an appreciation for impact that Donoghue vs. Stevenson
negligence case has had on Commonwealth common law

Introduction to Criminal Law

1. Define a crime.

This textbook introduces you to our legal system in the United

States, the basic elements of a crime, the specific elements of
commonly encountered crimes, and most criminal defenses. Criminal
law always involves the government and government action, so you will
also review the pertinent sections of the United States Constitution and
its principles as they apply to criminal law. By the end of the book, you
will be comfortable with the legal framework that governs the careers
of criminal justice professionals.

Definition of a Crime
in violation of a law prohibiting it, or omitted in violation of a
law ordering it.”Yourdictionary.com, “Definition of Crime,” accessed
August 15, 2010, http://www.yourdictionary.com/crime. You learn
about criminal act and omission to act in Chapter 4 "The Elements of a
Let’s begin at the beginning by defining a crime. The most basic
definition of a crime is “an act committed Crime". For now, it is
important to understand that criminal act, omission to act, and criminal
intent are elements or parts of every crime. Illegality is also an element
of every crime. Generally, the government must enact a criminal
law specifying a crime and its elements before it can punish an
individual for criminal behavior. Criminal laws are the primary focus of
this book. As you slowly start to build your knowledge and
understanding of criminal law, you will notice some unique
characteristics of the United States’ legal system.

Laws differ significantly from state to state. Throughout the

United States, each state and the federal government criminalize
different behaviors. Although this plethora of laws makes American
legal studies more complicated for teachers and students, the size,
cultural makeup, and geographic variety of our country demand this
type of legal system.

Laws in a democratic society, unlike laws of nature, are created

by people and are founded in religious, cultural, and historical value
systems. People from varying backgrounds live in different regions of
this country. Thus you will see that different people enact distinct laws
that best suit their needs. This book is intended for use in all states.
However, the bulk of any criminal law overview is an examination of
 different crimes and their elements. To be accurate and representative,
this book focuses on general principles that many states follow and
provides frequent references to specific state laws for illustrative
purposes. Always check the most current version of your state’s law
because it may vary from the law presented in this book.

Laws are not static. As society changes, so do the laws that

govern behavior. Evolving value systems naturally lead to new laws and
regulations supporting modern beliefs. Although a certain stability is
essential to the enforcement of rules, occasionally the rules must
change.

Try to maintain an open mind when reviewing the different and

often contradictory laws set forth in this book. Law is not exact, like
science or math. Also try to become comfortable with the gray area,
rather than viewing situations as black or white.

KEY TAKEAWAY
 A crime is an act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it or
omitted in violation of a law ordering it. In general, the criminal law
must be enacted before the crime is committed.
 EXERCISE
Answer the following question. Check your answer using the
answer key at the end of the chapter.

1. Read Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 (2006). Did the US Supreme
Court preserve Oregon’s right to legalize physician-assisted suicide?
The case is available at this
link: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-623.ZS.html.

1.2 Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

1. Compare criminal law and criminal procedure.

issues of criminal procedure, so it is important to differentiate between

This book focuses on criminal law, but it occasionally touches on the
two.

Criminal law generally defines the rights and obligations of individuals

in society. Some common issues in criminal law are the elements of
specific crimes and the elements of various criminal defenses. Criminal
procedure generally concerns the enforcement of individuals’ rights
during the criminal process. Examples of procedural issues are
individuals’ rights during law enforcement investigation, arrest, filing of
charges, trial, and appeal.

Example of Criminal Law Issues

Clara and Linda go on a shopping spree. Linda insists that they
browse an expensive department store. Moments after they enter the
lingerie department, Linda surreptitiously places a bra in her purse.
Clara watches, horrified, but does not say anything, even though a
security guard is standing nearby. This example illustrates two issues of
criminal law: (1) Which crime did Linda commit when she shoplifted the
bra? (2) Did Clara commit a crime when she failed to alert the security
guard to Linda’s shoplifting? You learn the answer to issue (1)
in Chapter 11 "Crimes against Property" and issue (2) in Chapter 4 "The
Elements of a Crime" and Chapter 7 "Parties to Crime".

Example of Criminal Procedure Issues

Review the example in Section 1.2.1 "Example of Criminal Law
Issues". Assume that Linda and Clara attempt to leave the store and an
alarm is activated. Linda begins sprinting down the street. Colin, a

police officer, just happens to be driving by with the window of his

patrol car open. He hears the store alarm, sees Linda running, and
 begins shooting at Linda from the car. Linda is shot in the leg and
collapses. Linda is treated at the hospital for her injury, and when she is
released, Colin arrests her and transports her to the police station. He
brings her to an isolated room and leaves her there alone. Twelve hours
later, he reenters the room and begins questioning Linda. Linda
immediately requests an attorney. Colin ignores this request and
continues to question Linda about the reason the department store
alarm went off. Whether Colin properly arrested and interrogated Linda
are criminal procedure issues beyond the scope of this book. However,
this example does illustrate one criminal law issue: did Colin commit a
crime when he shot Linda in the leg? You learn the answer to this
question in Chapter 5 "Criminal Defenses, Part 1".

KEY TAKEAWAY

 Criminal law generally defines the rights and obligations of

individuals in society. Criminal procedure generally concerns the
enforcement of individuals’ rights during the criminal process.
 EXERCISES

Answer the following questions. Check your answers using the

answer key at the end of the chapter.

1. Paul, a law enforcement officer, arrests Barney for creating a

disturbance at a subway station. While Barney is handcuffed
facedown on the ground, Paul shoots and kills him. Paul claims that
he accidentally grabbed his gun instead of his Taser. Is this an issue
of criminal law or criminal procedure?

2. Read Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980). In Payton, the US
Supreme Court held a New York statute unconstitutional under the
Fourth Amendment. Did the Payton ruling focus on criminal law or
criminal procedure? The case is available at this
link: http://supreme.justia.com/us/445/573.
Definition of Civil Law
Civil law alludes to the system of rules and regulations,
which describes and safeguards the rights of the residents of the
country and provides legal remedies to a dispute. It includes cases
relating to private matters such as property, contracts, torts, family
dispute, etc.

The party who files the suit is called plaintiff, while the party who
responds to the suits is known as a defendant and the entire process is
termed as litigation.

The basic objective of the civil law is to seek redressal of the wrongs, by
imposing compensation on the wrongdoer rather than giving
punishment. The wrongdoer bears only that extent of the damages,
which are required to make good the wrong done to the aggrieved
party.

Definition of Criminal Law

Criminal Law can be understood as the set of rules and statutes,
that highlights the conduct or act prohibited by the state, as it violates
the intention of the law, threatens and harms public and welfare safety.
The law does not only defines the crimes but also specifies punishment
to be imposed for the commission of a crime.
 The primary objective of criminal law is to penalize the person
who committed a crime, for the purpose of communicating a message
to

him/her and the entire society, not to commit the crime, or else, the
act they commited will attract retribution.

When one commits an act, which is not permitted by law, he/she risks
prosecution. In criminal law, firstly the complaint is registered with the
police, regarding the crime, after which the police investigates the
crime and files criminal charges. The aggrieved party can only report a
crime, but the charges can only be filed by the government, who is
represented by the prosecutor in the court of law against the
defendant.

In India, the Criminal Law is broadly classified into three major acts,
which are Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
and Indian Evidence Act, 1873.
 Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR
CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW
COMPARISON

Meaning Civil law refers to a Criminal law

general law, which implies the law
is concerned with related to the
disputes between offenses or crimes
individuals, committed
organizations, or against the
both wherein the society as a
wrongdoer whole.
compensates the
affected one.

Filed by Plaintiff Government

Purpose To sustain the To maintain law

rights of a person and order, to
and to compensate protect society
him. and to give
punishment to the
wrongdoers.
BASIS FOR
CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW
COMPARISON

Starts with Filing a petition to Firstly, a

the respective court complaint is
or tribunal, by the lodged with the
aggrieved party. police who
investigate the
crime, thereafter,
a case is filed in
the court.

Deals with It deals with any It deals with the

harm or violation to acts which law
individual rights. defines as
offences.

Action Sue Prosecute

Outcome Remedy Punishment

Powers of Award for damages Imprisonment,

court or injunction fine, discharge.

Consequence Defendant is liable Defendant is

liable. guilty or not
guilty.
BASIS FOR
CIVIL LAW CRIMINAL LAW
COMPARISON
 CONCLUSION

As we all know that the two types of law are made to serve
a variety of purposes. Civil law is primarily created to settle disputes
and provide compensation to the aggrieved party. On the contrary, the
criminal is aimed at preventing undesirable behavior and give
punishment the ones, who commit such acts, which are prohibited by
the law.

Civil law and criminal law both are the important part of Indian law.
There are the basic structure of our country. We have to follow thr legal
rules.

In a civil case, the defendant is liable or not liable, Where as in a

criminal case the defendant is either guilty or not guilty.

The difference between civil and criminal law turns on the difference
between two different objects which law seek to pursue- redess or
punishment . The object of civil law is the redress of wrong by
compelling compensation or restitution.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGE

iNDEX

http://www.lawlessons.ca/lesson-plans/3.1.introduction-to-civil-law

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=introduction+of+criminal+law

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=definition+of+criminal&rl

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=difference+between+civil+law+an
d+criminal+law+in+india

By typing (conclusion)