Have you ever wondered the difference between Criminal Law and Civil Law?
Criminal law is a type of a public law where it usually involves the government against the individual who commits a crime and is being charged in court by the Public Prosecutor where the Public Prosecutor represents the government.
Civil law is a type of Private Law where it usually involves individual themselves or in some situation it involves the government and the individuals. A few examples of Civil Law are Contract Law, Tort Law, Trust Law, Family Law, and etc.
Here are the few different standards of proof in Criminal Law and Civil Law:
The standard of proof required
Based on the maxim “He who asserts has to prove”, The Prosecutor or the Plaintiff (in civil case) has a burden of proofing their case in the court.
In criminal cases, the burden of proof is on the prosecution and the standard of proofing is very high which is beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, as long as there is a doubt in the case. There is no crime committed because the elements of the crime cannot be established.
Whereas in Civil cases, the burden of proof is on the Plaintiff and the standard of proof is balance of probabilities which means if the Plaintiff manage to prove their case on a 51% basis there the Plaintiff is said to have proven their case.
The use of the word ‘guilty’ or ‘liable’
In Criminal Case, usually the judge passes the sentence and held that the accuse is guilty or not guilty however in civil case usually the judge after deciding the case and held that the individual liable or not liable in the case.
