A criminal case is prosecuted in a court of law. As opposed to Criminal Law, civil law does not punish, but it compensates the aggrieved party and resolves the dispute, The defendant in a Civil law case may either be liable for the infringement or not, and here is what you want to know about the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law.
What is criminal law?
Criminal law deals with the act that law defines as offences it usually begins with preparing the FIR with the police who investigate the crime after which case is filed in court and if found guilty the accused can be sent to jail and also fined.
What is civil law?
Civil law is more concerned with cases between individual people where one person commits an offence that is harmful towards another person, their rights or their property. Civil law also settles disputes between individuals and organizations. 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.
Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law
| CRIMINAL LAW | CIVIL LAW |
|---|---|
| It deals with the act like theft, harassing women, murder etc. and acts that are defined offence by the law | Deals with any harm or dispute of the individual property like relating to sale of land, purchase of goods, rent etc. |
| STRATING POINT | |
| It starts with filing a First Information Report with the police who investigate the crime | A petition has to be filed in the relevant court by the affected party only |
| OBJECTIVE | |
| The main objective of criminal law is to punish the accused and protect the society | The main objective of civil law is to protect the rights of the individual |
| PUNISHMENT | |
| In Criminal Law, punishment is meted out as per the seriousness of the criminal offence committed or a fine could be imposed | In Civil Law, there is no punishment like Criminal Law, but the aggrieved party receives the compensation and the dispute gets settled. |
| JUDGEMENT | |
| If found guilty the accused can be sent to the prison and also be fined | The court specifies the relief asked |
Conclusion
Therefore after examination of the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law, we understand that 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 individual party receives the compensation and the dispute gets settled
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