Discuss the main procedural differences between criminal and civil trials - Essay Example

Each municipalities, federal government and state have their own criminal codes defining types of conduct that constitute crimes. In Scotland, law is divided into two main categories, that is, civil law and criminal law. Civil law speaks about the rights and obligations of organisations and individuals. It is a principle that was adopted from Roman law. Civil Law aims to sort out problems and arguments between individuals and other organisations. Criminal Law is the primary means by which the government discovers and criminalizes behaviour that is regarded wrong and damaging to a person s or society as a whole.

Criminal law system is the mechanism through which action is taken to deal with people suspected of committing offences. Scots civil procedure governs the rules of civil procedure in Scotland. Furthermore, it deals with the Scottish civil courts jurisdiction as follows Sheriff Courts and Court of Session. Moreover, civil procedure is generally regulated by Acts of Sederunt which are statutes which are passed by the court session (Susan MacKessack). It can also be regulated by the primary legist ration enacted such as Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 which removed requirements for corroborating evidence.

The Human right Act 1998, enacted civil procedure has increasingly been shaped by case law from the European court of Human Rights. The procedures involved in Criminal and Civil are different in many ways. In Criminal trials prosecutions of nearly all cases is started by the state while civil trials on the other hand, are started by an individual, organization or companies for their own benefits. In other words criminal trials are filed by the government while as civil trials are filed by private parties.

The trials of Criminal and Civil are normally held in different courts, and in civil trials juries are not so often used. Another distinction is that in the Criminal trials courts may force the guilty party to pay a fine as punishment for their crime and also the legal costs of the both lawyers. On the other hand, in civil trials the victim just asks for compensation and not a criminal action is taken (June Fraser). In a civil proceeding the defendant can be found not liable or liable and the judge decides on the case while in a criminal trial the defendant is sentenced if he is guilty or acquitted if not guilty by the jury this is because arguments among people can be resolved and damage mended compared to crimes in criminals cases such as murder or man slaughter which are severe and leave damages that are irreversible.

Furthermore, in civil trail procedure accuser must produce evidence beyond the proportion of probabilities while in a criminal trial the evidence produced must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Moreover, in civil trials burden of proof is on the claimant, otherwise, the charge may turn to the defendant in situations that the things speak for it. In the criminal trial the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty by the prosecutor. Compensation in term of money for injuries, an injunction or damages is usually instilled on a party found to be on the wrong in a civil trial while in criminal trials a guilty party