Tort

... is a civil wrongdoing, in essence between civilians where one party wrongs the other, or becomes liable to the other that does not extend to criminal liability. If one had criminally wronged the other, s/he had committed a crime or had incurred criminal wrongdoing to the others.

One who is liable in tort is called a tortfeasor and one who is guilty of a crime is called a criminal. See the usage of the terms liable and guilty.

Tort law is substantive law, which is based on case law/judgment. (Remember Substantive Law and Procedural Law mentioned in Chapter 1?)

Tort Law and Criminal Law compares

Tort Law

• Tort law is a kind of civil law, like family law, property law, and contract law.

• Torts are some general standards of civil conduct. As a practical matter, torts are nothing more than a collection of theories for suing people for money and, if permitted, other remedies, e.g. publish an apology in the newspaper.

• The theme is that victims of torts are entitled to compensation for breach of the particular duties owed to them beyond family law, property law, and contract law.

• The focus of tort law is what the victim can do about the financial harm the victim has suffered.

• Whereas there is an assumption in criminal law that tort law exists to compensate the victim for the victim's financial harm, the opposite is not true.

• There is no assumption in tort law that criminal law exists. Some wrongful conduct is a tort but not a crime, and vice versa.

• As a general rule, in tort law, the financial harm suffered by the victim as a result of a tort is the only issue.

Criminal Law

• The overall purpose of criminal law is to provide some basic protection to society from clearly ant-social acts.

• Although crimes may have immediate victims (e.g., the owners of homes burned down by an arsonist), the ultimate victim of crime in society (e.g., the danger to everyone if an arsonist is not stopped).

• As a result, the focus of criminal law is on the person committing the crime.

• The focus of criminal law is on deciding if a person is a criminal and, if so, how the person should be punished.

• There is a sense in which criminal law is for the criminal.

• As a general rule, in a criminal case, the financial harm suffered by the victim as a result of a crime is not the issue.

• Instead, there is an assumption in criminal law that tort law exists to compensate the victim for the victim's financial harm.

Note: the above are tabulated in the course notes.