Civil Liability
Legal obligations arising from private wrongs (see tort) or a breach of
contract that is not a criminal act (public wrong).
The liability that arises out of breaking a law or committing a criminal act.
Difference between civil and criminal liabiities.
Criminal liability
In criminal matters, it is usually the state prosecuting the defendant before a magistrate, or a
judge and jury in the Crown Court. The basic assumption in criminal liability is that there is both
a mental element and physical element to the offence. This has been as a matter of public
policy to make it possible to obtain convictions which otherwise would be very difficult. The
penalties for criminal offences are fines and imprisonment, as well as other non-custodial
punishments.
2.2 Civil liability
Civil liability gives a person rights to obtain redress from another person e.g. the ability to sue
for damages for personal injury. There is also the right to obtain an injunction. For there to be
an award of damages, the injured party has to have suffered an actual loss, be it personal
injury, damage to property, or financial loss.
AIMS OF SENTENCING
RETRIBUTION
This is the idea of giving a punishment because the defendant deserves a punishment because
of their actions. It is not a punishment that will try and reduce this type of crime or try to stop
the offender from reoffending
DENUNCIATION
Denunciation is a way of showing society¹s disapproval of criminal activity. Sentencing has a
message to both the defendant and the public, to say that society condemns this type of
behaviour and that justice is being done.
INCAPACITATION
This is also known as the protection of the public, the idea of this sentence is that the
punishment must serve a useful purpose. This means that it serves a purpose for society as a
whole, or that it will help the offender in some way.
Incapacitation means that in some way the offender is made incapable of re-offending.
DETERRENCE
This is generally concerned with preventing future crimes, with the idea that the prospect of an
unpleasant punishment will put people off the idea of committing that crime.
This can be split into 2 sections, individual deterrence and general deterrence.
Where individual deterrence is intended to ensure that the offender does not re-offend,
through a fear of future punishment.
General deterrence has a different aim to individual deterrence as it is aimed at preventing
other potential offenders from committing crimes.
REHABILITATION
The main aim of rehabilitation is to reform the offender and rehabilitate him or her into society,
so that they are less likely to commit offences in the future. This is either because they either
learn to see the harm they are causing to society or because they learn through education,
training and other forms of help. It is an aim that looks into the future of the defendant. It has
the hope that the offender¹s behaviour will be altered by the penalty imposed, so they will not
re-offend in the future.
REPARATION
This is aimed at compensating the victim of the crime, usually by ordering the offender to pay a
sum of money to the victim or to make restitution, for example returning stolen property.
Some projects have also included bring together the offender and the victim to make a direct
reparation, so that they can make contact.
Rights and Duties
Rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. One does not exist without the other. The test
of someone has the ‘right’ to something is by whether if someone else has the duty to provide
it. The two terms ‘right and its correlative duty’ are inseparable from each other. ‘Rights’ are
defined as the normative rules that are set by a legal jurisdiction, and are owned by the people.
Rights are something that every human being deserves. ‘Duties’ are defined as things that are
to be completed or be followed by an individual. It is extremely important for an individual to
perform their duties, so as to protect their rights for the benefit of the society. The primary
difference between rights and duties is that right is based on privilege granted to an individual,
whereas duty is based on accountability of performing that duty by an individual.
Privilege is a special right or advantage available only to a particular person or group of
people.
Legal personality To have legal personality means to be capable of holding legal rights and
obligations [1][2] within a certain legal system, such as entering into contracts, suing, and being
sued.[3] Legal personality is a prerequisite to legal capacity, the ability of any legal person to
amend (enter into, transfer, etc.) rights and obligations
Characteristics and qualities (such as age and domicile) from which human beings derive
their legal capacity and status, within their society's legal order. It is the sum total of
an individual's legal advantages and disadvantages.
