Difference Between Civil and Criminal Courts

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The court system is divided into two different sectors in order to differentiate the class of the alleged crime; civil law and criminal law are practised in two different courts. Sometimes however, both start in the magistrates’ court depending on severity. Criminal cases could be escalated to Crown Court if they present an indictable offence or a triable either way offence that is deemed too serious for the magistrates, while civil cases could be escalated to High Court if the value of the damages is higher than £30,000. An immediate difference between civil law and criminal law is the parties involved; the rule of court under civil law would usually be plaintiff vs defendant whereas in criminal court it commonly involves government in most criminal cases and the defendant in these cases are called “the accused” which sounds more severe, however you can also have the prosecution (CPS) VS The Defendant. This tells us that civil law is for individual interest while criminal law is for public interest. It is not only the name that differs from the two categories of civil law and criminal law, the way of reaching a clear cut judgment is also relevant. In presenting evidence to indicate the defendant to be guilty has to be “clear and convincing evidence” and in criminal cases the substantial amount of evidence according to the same source has to be “Beyond a reasonable doubt” in order to prove the defendant to be guilty. Civil cases brought to court under this category are usually associated with personal disputes that can be sorted out with payments. Cases that are usually brought to court for civil law related matters are like copyright infringements, debt, evictions, partnership and inheritance disputes (under £30,00 dealt with at county court, any amount over £50,000 is sent straight to High Court) and other common complaints. It would be related and often

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