Lesson 3 Comparing civil and criminal law.ppt

Terms in this unit Criminal law V.S. Civil law Civil law: Contract law Tort law Torts : intentional tort negligent tort strict liability tort Compensatory damages punitive damages Other Terms Criminal justice system: 刑事司法审判体系/制度 Monetary compensation:赔偿金 Tortfeasor: 侵权人 Assault and battery: 企图伤害和殴打(罪) assault 无身体接触, battery 有身体伤害或攻击性的接触. Battery: 殴打企图,一种侵权行为,也称为tortious battery. (from Song’s D. p52) Definitions Criminal law is concerned with conduct of which the State disapproves and will punish the wrongdoer, seeking to deter others from similar behavior. Civil law has a complementary function. When a dispute arises between two individuals, rules of civil law are applied to determine which individual is in the right. The party in the wrong must then compensate the other for any loss of damage. The object of the criminal law is, therefore, punitive; the object of the civil law is to compensate the person wronged. (from Pamphlet R. p132) The Purpose of Criminal Law First, it is intended to prevent behavior that society has determined undesirable. Second, it is to punish those who take the acts deemed undesirable by society. It fact, the purpose of criminal law is twofold.Arguably, there is only one purpose, to prevent antisocial behavior. Punishment is only used as a tool to achieve the primary goal f preventing antisocial behavior. The Purpose of Civil Law The primary purpose is to compensate those injured by someone else’s behavior. Actually it acts to prevent nonconformity. Prevention of the bad behavior may be more the consequence of civil law than the purpose. Other Differences First, in civil law the person who brings the lawsuit is the person who was injured. (The plaintiff V.The defendant / Citizen V. Citizen) In criminal law, it is the government,whether national,state, or local, is always the party who files criminal charges. (The prosecution V.The accused/ State V. Citizen) Second, in civil