This article is about non-criminal law under the common law legal system originating in England. For the legal system originating in France and Italy, seeCivil law (legal system). For other uses, seeCivil law (disambiguation).
Thecommon law system, which originated inmedieval England, is often contrasted with thecivil law legal system originating in France and Italy. Whereas the civil law takes the form of legal codes such as theNapoleonic code, the common law comes from uncodifiedcase law that arises as a result of judicial decisions, recognising prior court decisions as legally bindingprecedent.[9]
Civil litigation refers tolegal proceedings undertaken to resolve a dispute rewarding an allegedcivil wrong and seeking redress or payment ofdamages. It includes the process of one party notifying the other that they have a cause for action.[10] It is often suggested that civil litigation proceedings are undertaken for the purpose of obtaining compensation for injury, and may thus be distinguished from criminal proceedings, whose purpose is to inflict punishment. However,exemplary damages orpunitive damages may be awarded in civil proceedings. It was also formerly possible forcommon informers to sue for a penalty in civil proceedings.[11]
Because some courts have both a civil and criminal jurisdiction, civil proceedings cannot be defined as those taken in civil courts.[12] In the United States, the expression "civil courts" is used as a shorthand for "trial courts in civil cases".[13][14]In England and other common-law countries, theburden of proof in civil proceedings is, in general—with a number of exceptions such as committal proceedings forcivil contempt—proof on abalance of probabilities.[15] In civil cases in the law of theMaldives, the burden of proof requires theplaintiff to convince the court of the plaintiff's entitlement to the relief sought. This means that the plaintiff must prove each element of the claim, or cause of action in order to recover.[16]
The cost of pursuing civil litigation has sometimes been highlighted as excessive relative to the scale of the issue to be resolved. Where costs are too high, they can restrict access to justice.[17]
