How does civil law differ from criminal law?

Although criminal law and civil law are different, the two sometimes overlap because the same behaviour gives rise to both civil and criminal liability. On the one hand, criminal law is the speciality of law that regulates all the most serious and socially reprehensible acts of citizens, such as murder, rape, theft, assault, cheating, torture, battery, etc.

However, civil law does not classify crimes or create the penalties applicable to those crimes, but represents the part of the law that regulates the most common and customary activities that a person can perform in society, so that civil law is composed of several blocks, such as Family Law (divorce, separation, nullity, filiation, parentage, guardianship, invalidity, etc. ), Inheritance Law (inheritance and wills after death), Property Rights (ownership, possession, rental, mortgages, etc.), Law of contracts and obligations (regulation of all existing civil contracts), etc. In short, civil law regulates the most fundamental issues of our law that are most common in our everyday society.

What is the difference between civil law and criminal law?

On the one hand, civil law guides private links between inhabitants and entities, such as civil society, mainly economic, but not exclusively. In fact, in the absence of disputes, the filing of a lawsuit depends on the request of the victim or the interested party.

Criminal law, on the other hand, aims at condemning deeds performed by inhabitants or bodies that are deemed harmful not only to other citizens or entities, but ultimately to the rest of society. In such cases, the state acts in most judicial cases to try to enforce these laws, even if the victim does not report them.

What is the purpose of civil law and criminal law?

Civil law differs from criminal law in that it governs private relations between individuals, whereas criminal law is part of public law because of the nature of the offence, even if it only affects individuals. Criminal law was inherited from Napoleon's traditional penal code, which attempted to consolidate the penalties imposed by all states into a single law. However, states use other means to punish citizens who commit crimes. Criminal law is primarily intended to punish those who harm society; its formulation is to maintain public order and protect the security of property.

Of course, crime is a social reality in any society, so it makes sense for everyone to respect rules and values in order for the business to function properly.

How are civil and criminal proceedings initiated and what are their penalties?

Legal proceedings that are to be processed by civil procedure will always be initiated by action at the request of the injured or interested party, since this branch of law regulates private relations between people, i.e. personal relations. In criminal law, in order to know who can initiate proceedings, a distinction must be made between private, semi-public and public offences. Private offences are currently limited to insults and defamation. These offences can only be reported by the victim by means of a complaint, without the intervention of the public prosecutor.

In contrast, a semi-public offence can be prosecuted jointly by the prosecutor and the victim, but the victim must file a preliminary complaint or appeal. This category includes, among others, offences related to violations of intellectual and/or industrial property rights and offences related to assault, threat and coercion. And finally, public offences are offences that are neither private nor semi-public, and prosecutors can initiate investigations into these offences ex officio without prior procedure.

There is no such penalty in the Civil Code since judges pass judgements in civil cases, which they do, or agree or disagree with one or both parties, and so they sentence if they do, or do not do, pay, make restitution, compensate, etc.

In criminal law, on the other hand, three types of penalties can be imposed: deprivation of liberty, deprivation of other rights, i.e. termination of employment, deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle and/or weapons, prohibition of contact with the victim, among others, or in the worst case a fine.

What is the connection between civil and criminal law?

In criminal cases, in addition to the corresponding sanction as punishment for the crime committed, civil liability is also provided for, according to which the convicted person is obliged to financially compensate for the damage caused. In other words, civil liability arose from criminal cases to compensate the victims of crimes.