MEPX
Chapter 2 of 10All chapters
  1. 1How legal systems work
  2. 2Criminal and civil
  3. 3Contracts
  4. 4Consumer protection
  5. 5Employment
  6. 6Property and tenancy
  7. 7Intellectual property
  8. 8Family and inheritance
  9. 9Rights when dealing with authority
  10. 10Resolving disputes

Chapter 2 of 10

Criminal and civil

Two different questions.

The difference

Criminal law is the state prosecuting conduct it forbids, aiming at punishment. Civil law resolves disputes between people or organisations, usually with compensation.

  • Beyond reasonable doubt against the balance of probabilities.
  • One event can produce both, decided independently.

Who brings a case

Prosecutors decide criminal charges, with victims as witnesses rather than parties. In civil matters you decide whether to sue and bear the cost of doing so.