Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some 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; the process for post-trial procedures; various available remedies; and how the courts and clerks must function.
Differences between civil and criminal procedureEdit
In most cases, criminal prosecutions are pursued by the state in order to punish offenders, although some systems, such as in English and French law, allow citizens to bring a private prosecution. Conversely, civil actions are initiated by private individuals, companies or organizations, for their own benefit. Government agencies may also be a party to civil actions. Civil and criminal cases are usually heard in different courts.
In jurisdictions based on English common-law systems, the party bringing a criminal charge (in most cases, the state) is called the "prosecution", but the party bringing most forms of civil action is the "plaintiff" or "claimant". In both kinds of action the other party is known as the "defendant". A criminal case against a person called Ms. Sanchez would be described as "The People v. (= "versus", "against" or "and") Sanchez," "The State (or Commonwealth) v. Sanchez" or "[The name of the State] v. Sanchez" in the United States and "R. (Rex, Latin for "King" but spoken as "The Crown") v. Sanchez" in England and Wales, amongst other Commonwealth realms. But a civil action between Ms. Sanchez and a Mr. Smith would be "Sanchez v. Smith" if it were started by Sanchez, and "Smith v. Sanchez" if it were started by Mr. Smith (though the order of parties' names can change if the case is appealed).[1]
Most countries make a clear distinction between civil and criminal procedure. For example, a criminal court may force a convicted defendant to pay a fine as punishment for their crime, and the legal costs of both the prosecution and defence. But the victim of the crime generally pursues their claim for compensation in a civil, not a criminal, action.[2] In France and England, however, a victim of a crime may incidentally be awarded compensation by a criminal court judge.
Evidence from a criminal trial is generally admissible as evidence in a civil action about the same matter. For example, the victim of a road accident does not directly benefit if the driver who injured them is found guilty of the crime of careless driving. The victim still has to prove his case in a civil action, unless the doctrine of collateral estoppel applies, as it does in most American jurisdictions.[2] The victim may be able to prove their civil case even when the driver is found not guilty in the criminal trial, because the standard to determine guilt is higher than the standard to determine fault. However, if a driver is found by a civil jury not to have been negligent, a prosecutor may be estopped from charging them criminally.
If the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable, the main remedy in a civil court is the amount of money, or "damages", which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff.[2] Alternative civil remedies include restitution or transfer of property, or an injunction to restrain or order certain actions.
The standards of proof are higher in a criminal case than in a civil one, since the state does not wish to risk punishing an innocent person. In English law the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal "beyond reasonable doubt"; but the plaintiff in a civil action is required to prove his case "on the balance of probabilities".[2] Thus, in a criminal case a crime cannot be proven if the person or persons judging it doubt the guilt of the suspect and have a reason (not just a feeling or intuition) for this doubt. But in a civil case, the court will weigh all the evidence and decide what is most probable.
^Storme, Marcel; et al. (18 September 2012). Maleshin, Dmitry (ed.). Civil Procedure in Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context. IAPL World Conference on Civil Procedure. ssrn.com. Moscow: International Association of Procedural Law. SSRN 2280682. UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-119, University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 25/2013. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
Civil Procedure Rules applying to England and Wales
Complete text of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Cornell Univ.)
October 23, 2023
civil, procedure, confused, with, civil, code, other, uses, civil, disambiguation, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, tone, style, reflect, . Not to be confused with Civil code For other uses see Civil law disambiguation This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions September 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate February 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some 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 the process for post trial procedures various available remedies and how the courts and clerks must function Contents 1 Differences between civil and criminal procedure 2 Civil procedural types 3 Civil procedure by country 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDifferences between civil and criminal procedure EditIn most cases criminal prosecutions are pursued by the state in order to punish offenders although some systems such as in English and French law allow citizens to bring a private prosecution Conversely civil actions are initiated by private individuals companies or organizations for their own benefit Government agencies may also be a party to civil actions Civil and criminal cases are usually heard in different courts In jurisdictions based on English common law systems the party bringing a criminal charge in most cases the state is called the prosecution but the party bringing most forms of civil action is the plaintiff or claimant In both kinds of action the other party is known as the defendant A criminal case against a person called Ms Sanchez would be described as The People v versus against or and Sanchez The State or Commonwealth v Sanchez or The name of the State v Sanchez in the United States and R Rex Latin for King but spoken as The Crown v Sanchez in England and Wales amongst other Commonwealth realms But a civil action between Ms Sanchez and a Mr Smith would be Sanchez v Smith if it were started by Sanchez and Smith v Sanchez if it were started by Mr Smith though the order of parties names can change if the case is appealed 1 Most countries make a clear distinction between civil and criminal procedure For example a criminal court may force a convicted defendant to pay a fine as punishment for their crime and the legal costs of both the prosecution and defence But the victim of the crime generally pursues their claim for compensation in a civil not a criminal action 2 In France and England however a victim of a crime may incidentally be awarded compensation by a criminal court judge Evidence from a criminal trial is generally admissible as evidence in a civil action about the same matter For example the victim of a road accident does not directly benefit if the driver who injured them is found guilty of the crime of careless driving The victim still has to prove his case in a civil action unless the doctrine of collateral estoppel applies as it does in most American jurisdictions 2 The victim may be able to prove their civil case even when the driver is found not guilty in the criminal trial because the standard to determine guilt is higher than the standard to determine fault However if a driver is found by a civil jury not to have been negligent a prosecutor may be estopped from charging them criminally If the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable the main remedy in a civil court is the amount of money or damages which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff 2 Alternative civil remedies include restitution or transfer of property or an injunction to restrain or order certain actions The standards of proof are higher in a criminal case than in a civil one since the state does not wish to risk punishing an innocent person In English law the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal beyond reasonable doubt but the plaintiff in a civil action is required to prove his case on the balance of probabilities 2 Thus in a criminal case a crime cannot be proven if the person or persons judging it doubt the guilt of the suspect and have a reason not just a feeling or intuition for this doubt But in a civil case the court will weigh all the evidence and decide what is most probable Civil procedural types EditCivil procedure is traditionally divided into inquisitorial and adversarial 3 Civil procedure by country EditAustralia Brazil Canada England and Wales Germany India Netherlands Romania Scotland South Africa United StatesSee also EditAffirmative defense Civil Justice Fairness Act Criminal procedure Jurisdiction Laches Objection Prejudice law Statute of limitations Summary judgment Time constraints Trial de novoReferences Edit Case citation Supreme Court of the United States a b c d Richard Powell 1993 Law today Harlow Longman p 34 ISBN 978 0 582 05635 0 OCLC 30075861 Storme Marcel et al 18 September 2012 Maleshin Dmitry ed Civil Procedure in Cross Cultural Dialogue Eurasia Context IAPL World Conference on Civil Procedure ssrn com Moscow International Association of Procedural Law SSRN 2280682 UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No 2013 119 University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No 25 2013 Retrieved 10 May 2023 External links Edit nbsp Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Civil Procedure Civil Procedure Rules applying to England and Wales Complete text of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Cornell Univ Rhode Island Civil Court Rules of Procedure Optimized by a Constable from the law library at the 6th District Court of Rhode Island Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Civil procedure amp oldid 1178910594, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
