Civil Law

In the U.S. legal system, civil law is the branch of law concerning disputes between individuals and/or organizations, where a judgment can be the requirement of action, the cessation of action, and/or monetary payments from one party to another. In general, civil law is all law that is not criminal law, which concerns the state charging someone with having committed a crime. Civil law can involve matters of torts, such as accidents and negligence; disputes regarding contracts, property, wills and trusts, marriages, and family issues; and adherence to administrative regulations, commercial laws, civil rights law, and constitutional law. This entry provides an overview of civil law with examples from education.