Civil Litigation
People litigate when they go to courts to enforce their rights (or are sued by someone seeking to enforce rights). Civil cases are those about those rights. Criminal cases are where the laws which provide for forms of punishment are enforced.
^ TOPExceptions to going to court
Unless some special tribunal has been set up for certain sorts of rights to be determined (for example the Employment Tribunal dealing with certain statutory rights granted to employees, or the Lands Tribunal which deals with certain particular types of property related matters, such as compensation) if you want to enforce your rights then court is where you go to.
The value of the claim (i.e. how much money it might be worth) and the complexity or importance (is it legally or factually difficult? - is there some point of general importance?) determine which level of court is appropriate, the High Court (for the more serious or complex cases) or the County Court.
^ TOPDifferent courts
Some types of case have to be brought at a particular level of court. Sometimes certain applications have to be brought before a particular level of judge even if the case is proceeding in a different court. These are matters set out in the procedural rules. The conduct of civil litigation in England and Wales is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules. They came in in 1999 and have since then been regularly updated. They replaced the older Rules of the Supreme Court which had applied until then. The Civil Procedure Rules are referred to as CPR, and the Rules of the Supreme Court as RSC (not to be confused with the Royal Shakespeare Company!).
^ TOPForthcoming articles
Commencing next week the Friday articles will explain about the civil procedure rules in more detail which will hopefully allow you to follow and understand civil litigation and the procedures followed.
It is important to bear in mind that civil litigation can take a number of forms. This is why, as will be seen, special rules have to be brought in for particular areas of law because cases involving them may be very different. However even in such cases much of the procedure will be the same and governed by the general rules.
^ TOPExamples of civil litigation
When you read in the newspapers about persons contesting a will, that is civil litigation. When someone sues for defamation (saying for example that a newspaper has published a story about them that is untrue and which will cause people to think badly of them) that is civil litigation. When a pop star and his or her agent fall out about who is entitled to what money, their dispute will be a form of civil litigation.
^ TOPCivil or criminal
A good contrast between civil and criminal litigation comes in the field of rape. If someone is raped there may be a prosecution (if there is sufficient evidence). In the criminal courts what the jury will have to consider is whether the case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Another way of putting it is the jury can only convict if they are sure of guilt. The policy reason is that it is important not to punish people unless you are sure that they have committed the crime (in terms of being sure both there was a crime and that they were guilty of it).
^ TOPSuing for damages
However a person who is raped also has a civil wrong done to her. She is subject to an assault. She can therefore sue for that. That is a civil case seeking damages for the effect upon her of the wrongdoing. That would be in the civil court. After a criminal conviction for rape a defendant could expect to go to prison for many years. After a civil case he would not be sent to prison, but would have to pay damages as assessed by the court. In a civil case the test is not whether the court is sure, but whether it is more likely than not that the defendant did what is alleged. However, in applying that test, where a serious allegation is made the court is able to take account of the seriousness in deciding whether the allegation has been proved. In any event you do not need as much proof to obtain damages in a civil court as you do to obtain a conviction in a criminal court.