jeniwillym
01-28-2009, 04:58 AM
Civil law is the mechanism whereby one party can take a dispute with another before a court to get a decision. Criminal law is enforced by an agency like the police or trading standards on behalf of the crown and only such an agency can bring proceedings. In civil proceedings the court can reach a decision on the balance of probabilities. In criminal law a guilty decision is dependant on things being beyond all reasonable doubt.