Legal Definitions - civil law

The term civil law has two primary meanings within the legal world, both distinct from criminal law, which deals with offenses against the state.

In one sense, civil law refers to the branch of law that governs the rights, duties, and legal relationships between private individuals and organizations. It focuses on resolving disputes and providing remedies for wrongs that do not involve a criminal act. The goal of civil law is typically to compensate an injured party or enforce a right, rather than to punish an offender. Common areas include contract disputes, personal injury claims (torts), family matters, and property disagreements.

In another sense, civil law refers to a major legal system, prevalent in many countries around the world, including most of continental Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia and Africa. This system is characterized by its reliance on comprehensive, codified statutes and laws, which are systematically organized into codes. In a civil law system, judges primarily apply the written law to the facts of a case, with less emphasis on judicial precedent (past court decisions) compared to common law systems.

Here are some examples illustrating civil law as a type of law:

• Contract Dispute
  Imagine a small graphic design firm that hires a web developer to create a new company website. They sign a contract outlining the scope of work, timeline, and payment schedule. If the web developer fails to deliver the website on time and to the agreed-upon specifications, causing the design firm to lose potential clients, the design firm might sue the developer for breach of contract. This is a civil law matter because it involves a dispute between two private entities over the terms of their agreement, seeking compensation for financial losses rather than criminal penalties.
• Personal Injury Claim (Tort)
  Consider a situation where a shopper slips on a wet floor in a grocery store that had no "wet floor" warning signs, resulting in a broken wrist. The shopper could file a lawsuit against the grocery store for negligence, seeking compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. This falls under civil law (specifically tort law) because it's a private individual seeking damages from a private business for a personal injury, based on the store's alleged failure to maintain a safe environment.
• Divorce and Child Custody
  Suppose a married couple decides to divorce and cannot agree on who should have primary custody of their children or how to divide their shared assets, such as their house and savings. They would go to court to resolve these issues. This is a civil law matter, falling under family law, as it involves private individuals seeking a legal resolution to their personal relationships and property division, with the court mediating and making decisions based on established legal principles for fairness and the children's best interests.