What is law

The two types of law
The law is often divided into:
civil law
and
criminal law.

Civil law
Civil law concerns the rights and duties that people or companies owe to each other.

Civil Law
Key Points
There is NO prosecution or punishment in civil law.
A person brings an action against another and asks the court for a remedy (e.g. damages).
The process of starting a civil law action is known as ‘suing’.
The person starting the action is known as the ‘claimant’.
The person being sued is known as the ‘defendant’.

Main Branches of
Civil Law
Contract law
Law of tort
Family law
Company law.

Criminal Law
Key Points
The aim of criminal law is to prosecute and punish the wrong-doer.
The police conduct most criminal investigations,
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brings most prosecutions.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) heads the CPS.
The person who is being prosecuted is known as the ‘defendant’.

The main courts
The main criminal courts are:
The magistrates’ courts
The Crown Court.
The main civil courts are:
The county courts
The High Court.

The burden of proof in criminal cases
A person can only be found guilty if the case is proved beyond reasonable doubt.
If there is reasonable doubt then the accused must be found ‘not guilty’.
The defence does not have to prove that the defendant did not commit the crime.
The burden of proof is on the prosecution.

Criminal law
Criminal law concerns behaviour that the state so strongly disapproves of that it will seek to punish the wrongdoer.