What are the distinctions if any between civil and criminal law?
… Civil Justice system is there to help people resolve their disputes fairly and peacefully”(Lord Irvine of Lairg, Lord Chancellor, Modernising Justice 1998) There are seven main differences between Civil and Criminal law. The purpose of the two types of laws, the people who bring the cases to court, the courts hearing the cases, the terminology used in the different laws and the different burdens of proof needed for a civil and criminal case. The purpose of Criminal law has already briefly been touched upon in paragraph one of this paper, however the purpose of criminal law has been a topic for debate among lawyers and academics for many years now. Although debated “it is frequently asserted that the main indicia of criminal liability is that’s its consequence is punishment of the offender”. Crimes are brought to court by the Crown or at least in the name of the Crown. The Crown …
