Outline of civil law (common law)
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to civil law:
Civil law – branch of the law. In common law countries such as England, Wales, and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law relating to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts is part of the civil law. The law of property is embraced by civil law. Civil law can, like criminal law, be divided into substantive law and procedural law. The rights and duties of individuals amongst themselves is the primary concern of civil law. It is often suggested that civil proceedings are taken for the purpose of obtaining compensation for injury, and may thus be distinguished from criminal proceedings, whose purpose is to inflict punishment. However, exemplary or punitive damages may be awarded in civil proceedings.
What type of thing is civil law?
Civil law (in common law countries) can be described as all of the following:
- Branch of law dealing with non-criminal cases
Branches of civil law
Substantive civil law
- Art and culture law
- Civil rights
- Commercial law
- Environmental law
- Family law
- Property law
- Tort law
- Personal injury
- Tort law by common law country
History of civil law
Lawsuits
- Lawsuit – suit, action, or cause instituted or depending between two private persons in the courts of law.
Civil procedure
Civil procedure – body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process (if any) is required, the types of pleadings or statements of case, motions or applications, and orders allowed in civil cases, the timing and manner of depositions and discovery or disclosure, the conduct of trials, the process for judgment, various available remedies, and how the courts and clerks must function.
- Service of process
- Pleading – as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another party's claims in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjudicated in the action.
- Motions
- Motion in United States law
- Court orders
- Depositions
- Discovery
- Trial
- Judgments
- Legal remedies