With the development of modern society, one of the first things that were developed to prevent anarchy was laws, and ever since the invention of laws, there are practitioners who are dedicated to practicing law and helping people who have been wronged get justice. Criminal law and civil law are two of the oldest wings of law education and practice.
As the name suggests, criminal law deals with any type of criminal activity that’s committed by someone on other people. Civil law deals with resolving disputes between people who have not committed any criminal offence against each other. For example, robbery falls under criminal law and land disputes between family members fall under civil law.
With this brief understanding of these two vast concepts, let’s take a closer look at what is criminal and civil law. We’ll also discuss assignment writing tips for law students in UK universities to help them navigate the differences in approach between these two legal practices.
What is Criminal Law?
Criminal law is any activity that’s performed by an individual or individuals that’s forbidden by the laws of the country where the individual resides. The nature of criminal law is as such that it punishes the perpetrator for activities that are considered unsocial or against the society. Practices like theft, harming a person physically, committing fraud, killing a person these are actions that are commonly considered under the purview of criminal law. Let’s take a look at the parties involved in criminal law.
- Victims: The victim in criminal law refers to the person on whom the crime was committed. Based on the nature of the crime, the victim can be present in the courtroom during the court proceedings.
- Proscecution: In case of criminal law, the victims do not fight against the alleged perpetrator directly. Since criminal activity is considered performed against society, the victim is represented by the state also known as prosecution. The prosecution is works with the police to investigate the criminal case and ensure the right person is found guilty for committing the crime.
- Defense: Defense refers to the legal counsel offered to the accused in a criminal trial. The job of the defense is to ensure the proscecution can prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the right person is accused and convicted of the criminal activity and accurate punishment is offered to them based on the severity of the crime.
- Witness: Witnesses play an important role in the criminal trials as they help the proscecution and defense lay out the events of the case before the judge. Witnesses are proof of either guilt or innocence based on who’s presenting them before the judge.
- Judge: The judge is the person hearing or presiding over a case and they’re responsible for passing judgement on the case and determining whether the accused is guilty of the alleged crimes or not. Based on the judge’s ruling, the case is closed at any level of court.
What is Civil Law?
Civil law is also known as private law as it deals with private disputes and problems of people. The two parties in a civil law are at a disagreement, which forces them to seek legal aid in a court to make decisions for them, regarding what should be done. Cases like determining the custody of a child, insurance claims, divorces, property matters, corporate litigation all fall under the jurisdiction of civil law. Let’s review the different parties involved in civil law.
- Plaintiff: Plaintiff refers to the person who has filed a case (petition) in appropriate courts against someone else who has wronged them in a non-criminal capacity. The plaintiff seeks justice in the court and pleads their case hoping for a favourable judgement.
- Defendant: The defendant refers to any individual or organisation against whom the petition has been filed in court.
- Attornies: Attornies are the legal counsel of each party and they present the case before the judge for their respective parties.
- Witnesses: Witnesses are the ones who are presented before the judge by both parties. They present proof of either guilt or innocence of the defendant.
- Judge: The judge presides over the case and passes judgement after hearing all the arguments presented by both parties.
Assignment Writing Tips for Law Students
As a student of UK universities, there are a few tips that can help you improve your assignments and score higher marks.
- Correctly Use Legal Jargon: As a student of law in top UK universities, it is crucial that you use legal jargon correctly. Since you’re a student of law and will be practicing it one day, the use of jargon is very important learning step as a law student. This will help you ensure you are ready to enter the workforce as a legal professional that can provide effective legal advice to those in need.
- Use Legal Precedents and Statutes: When you’re writing an assignment, refer to appropriate legal precedents and statutes to solidify your arguments. Legal practice focuses heavily on previously passed motions and legal statutes to determine the course of similar cases in the future. So, make sure you use them to your benefit and support your arguments well.
- Be Objective: No human being comes without a bias, however, as a practitioner of law, it is your duty to look at a case objectively and not be drawn into it on a personal level. This is one of the key factors that can help you write the best assignments and score highest as a law student in UK universities.
Conclusion
Now that you know the difference between criminal and civil law, use the differences to alter your assignments accordingly. If you need any assignment assistance, you can always check out Digi Assignment Help. Our experienced assignment writers can help you develop highly researched and well-argued law assignments for UK universities.
