In our environment the law determines into two sections: civil and criminal law, the difference between them is that the criminal law aims to punish the offender where as the civil law aims to compensate the victim. The word “Tort” comes from the French word meaning wrong, so, “Tort” is a wrong, and since we are concerned in tort with remedying wrongs rather than punishing them,
It’s a civil wrong, in the modern law the emphasis in tort has developed very much towards a law of interrelated duties as a result, and the law of negligence has achieved increasing importance,
And had developed humorous individual aspects. As Michel Jones puts it more simply: “the law of tort is primarily concerned with providing a remedy to person who has been harmed by the conduct of others” (Chris turner/tort law, chapter 1; 2003)
It is important to realize that civil law is very different from criminal law. Criminal law is a part of public law, while civil law is the separate category of private law.
The reason that criminal law is a part of public law is that crime is regarded as an action against the state and society as a whole. Civil law is called private law because the issues it deals with are between two individuals.
The two types of law have different aims and are dealt with in different courts. A person who commits a crime is said to have offended against the state, and so the state has the right to prosecute them. Even the standard of proof is different in civil and criminal cases.
Criminal cases must be proved “beyond reasonable doubt”, where is in civil cases have only to be proved “on the balance of probabilities”.
So as I have distinguished civil and criminal law I’ll conclude with the words of Sir John Salmond by defining law in general “the body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice”. Law could be also described as a formal mechanism of social control. (Jacqueline Martin p-3 AQA law).
Bibliography
1-Criminal law: text and materials, fifth edition by C.M.V.Clarkson
And H.M.keating, London Sweet & Maxwell 2003.
2- Tort of law, Chris Turner, Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.
3- AQA Law for AS, Jacqueline Martin, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002.
4- Roger Thomas dose, introduction to business law, 2003-2004.