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The study of law distinguishes between public law and private law, but in legal practice in the UK the distinction between civil law and criminal law is more important to practising lawyers. Public law relates to the state and is concerned with laws which govern processes in local and national government conflicts between an individual and the state. Private law is concerned with the relationships between individuals and corporations, and includes family law, contract law, property law, etc.

Criminal law deals with certain forms of conduct for which the state reserves punishment, for example murder or theft. The state prosecutes the offender. Civil law concerns relationships between private persons, their rights and duties. It also deals with the conduct which may give rise to a claim by a legal person for compensation or injunction. When it comes to prosecution under the laws of the country it’s common to speak about criminal offence but civil wrongs.

Criminal and civil proceedings are usually very different. In a criminal proceeding a prosecutor prosecutes a defendant. If the verdict is “guilty”, the defendant is convicted. He will have a criminal record for the crime and will be punished by one of a variety of punishments ranging from life imprisonment to a fine, which is paid to a court. If the defendant is found “not guilty”, he is acquitted and allowed to leave court without punishment.

In civil cases a claimant sues a defendant or brings a claim against him. The proceeding may result in judgement for the claimant, which means that the defendant is found liable and the judge may order the defendant to pay damages.

The duty to prove a case is called the burden of proof. In criminal cases the burden of proof falls on the prosecution. In other words it’s the duty of the prosecution to prove guilt, the defendant doesn’t have to prove his innocence. This principle is called the presumption of innocence, which means that every person charged with a criminal offence is considered to be innocent until proved guilty.

The degree of proof which makes the court sure that the person is guilty is called the standard of proof. The standard of proof is higher in a criminal action than in a civil one since the penalties are stricter. In a criminal case a prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal “beyond reasonable doubt”, which means that the prosecution must make the court sure that the defendant committed the crime. If the court is not sure or has a reason for the doubt, it must acquit the defendant.

In a civil action the burden of proof is on the claimant. He is required to prove his case “on a balance of probabilities”, i.e. to show that his case is more probable than not. But he doesn’t have to make the court sure about it; it’s enough to show that the defendant was probably guilty.

One and the same offence may sometimes result in both kinds of prosecution, civil and criminal. For example, the driver who injured a passer-by will not only face criminal penalties imposed by a criminal court but may have to pay compensation for injuries ordered by a civil court.

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