Difference between Civil law and Criminal law.

What is Criminal Law?

Criminal law relates to the offences that negatively affect society as a whole, rather than just one person. Criminal laws are put in place by Parliament to prevent breaches of conduct which they deem as harmful towards the whole of society. If a person breaches criminal law, then they will face criminal prosecution by the state. Criminal proceedings are brought by the Crown Prosecution Service and will be heard in Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. If you are then convicted, you may receive a prison sentence or a community order. The standard of proof for criminal law cases is “beyond a reasonable doubt” or “certain so you can be sure.” These both mean the same thing.

Examples of criminal offences include:

Murder, Manslaughter, Fraud, Assault, Sexual Offences, Burglary, etc.

What is Civil Law?

Civil law is more concerned with cases between individual people where one person commits an offence which is harmful towards another person, their rights or their property. Civil law also settles disputes between individuals and organisations. If you are convicted of a civil offence, you are not likely to be sent to prison, but most often will become liable for compensation. The standard of proof for civil law cases is “the balance of probabilities.” However, certain civil offences such as disciplinary proceedings for solicitor misconduct can use the higher standard of “beyond reasonable doubt.”

Examples of civil offences include:

Personal injury, Breaches of contract, Employment tribunals, Negligence, etc.

Civil Law	Criminal Law
Civil Law is a general law which deals with disputes between organizations or individuals or between the two. The wrongdoer, as per the civil law will has to compensate the affected party.	Criminal Law deals with crimes and offences that are committed against the society. It deals with crime and legal punishment of offences.
Civil Law is generally initiated by the aggrieved individual or organisation or also known as ‘plaintiff.’	The Government files the petition in case of criminal law.
In case of Civil Law, to start a case, the aggrieved party needs to file a case in the Court or Tribunal	As per Criminal Law, to start a case, a petition cannot be filed directly in a court, rather the complaint should be first registered with the police, and the crime needs to be investigated by the Police. Thereafter a case can be filed in the court.
The objective of Civil Law is to protect the rights of an individual or organization and make sure that he or the concerned organization receives the compensation for the wrongs that they have suffered.	The purpose of Criminal Law is to maintain law and order and protect society by punishing the wrongdoer.
In Civil Law, the wrongdoer gets sued by the complainant or the aggrieved party.	In Criminal Law, the accused person will be prosecuted in the court of law.
In the case of Civil Law, there is no punishment like Criminal Law, but the aggrieved party receives the compensation and the dispute gets settled.	In the case of Criminal Law, punishment is meted out as per the seriousness of the criminal offence committed or a fine could be imposed.
In the case of Civil Law, the power of the court is to pass judgement or injunction to compensate for damages caused to the aggrieved party.	In the case of Criminal Law, the powers of the court are charging a fine, imprisonment to the guilty of a crime, or discharge of the defendant.
In Civil Law cases, the defendant is considered to be either liable or not liable.	In Criminal cases, the defendant is considered either guilty or not guilty by the court.