PROFESSIONAL

PRACTICE-II

CIVIL LAW

DONE BY

MAHIMA___NAGASHREE___GANESH
What is civil law?
● The Civil Law is the most important branch of law for every constitutional
country.
● The Civil Law consists of a body of rules, procedures, regulations and judicial
precedents that helps in resolving the various non-criminal disputes.
● These disputes are either between individuals or organizations and can be on a
variety of problems like ordinary issues, private matters, marriage conflicts etc.

The essential features of the system are:

● Civil Laws are a codified set of legal rules.
● The codified Law bears a binding for all. There is little scope for judge-made law in
civil courts. Yet, looking into the practical aspect, the judges follow the
precedents.
● Writings of the Legal Scholars do have a substantial influence on the courts.
Scope of civil law
The scope of Civil laws is wide. Some of these
areas of civil law are well defined and well
developed. Yet, few of the subjects in civil law
are largely based on precedents and are
non-codified. Broadly, civil laws in India
include:

● Family Law
● Administrative Law
● Contract Law
● Tort Law
● Business Law
● Media Law
● Intellectual Property Rights
● Sports Law
● Tax Law
● Consumer Law
 History of civil law
● The civil law takes its major inspiration classical Roman law (c. AD 1—250),
and in
● particular Justinian law (6th century AD), and further expounding and
developments in the late Middle Ages under the influence of canon
law.112]
● The Justinian Code's doctrines provided a sophisticated model for contracts,
rules of procedure, family law, wills, and a strong monarchical constitutional
system.
● Roman law was received differently in different countries. In some it went
into force wholesale by legislative act, i.e.
● it became positive law, whereas in others it was diffused into society by
increasingly influential legal experts and scholars.
● Historians believe that the Romans developed civil law around 600 C. E.
● Current civil law codes developed around that Justinian tradition of
codifying laws as opposed to legal rulings.
● Common law dates to early English monarchy when courts began
collecting and publishing legal decisions. Later, those published decisions
were used as the basis to decide similar cases.
Classification of law
Code of civil procedure (CPC) 1908

The origin of civil and criminal law in India can perhaps be traced back to the colonial era. Civil and
criminal laws are both separate branches of laws governing India. In the case of the former, the wrong
is done to an individual or a person, whereas the latter is concerned with the commission of crimes
against society at large. Breach of contract, negligence, torts, and so on are examples of civil
misconducts. On the other hand, murder, rape, assault, battery and more come under the scope of
criminal legislation.

The degrees of punishment differ, as well. Civil offenses are generally penalized with monetary
compensation, but criminal acts may lead to imprisonment or even capital punishment. Civil and
criminal laws, therefore not only differ from each other in type and punishment, but also in scope.
Hierarchy of civil court in India
There is a hierarchical system in place specifying the powers and authority of courts in India. The Supreme
Court is the apex court occupying the top of the hierarchy. This hierarchy of civil courts is determined by
the pecuniary and territorial jurisdiction of various courts. Pecuniary Jurisdiction is the monetary value of
the amount that is of dispute in civil cases.

● Supreme Court of India: The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of appeal in India. For
civil matters, the Supreme Court accepts cases under its Appellate jurisdiction. The judgment
given by the Supreme Court of India is binding and final since it forms the topmost part of the
hierarchy.
● High Courts: The High Courts, situated in different states of India, come after the Supreme Court.
High Courts can try civil cases that have a monetary value of Rs 20 lakh involved.
● District Courts/ City Civil Courts: District Courts and City Civil Courts lie below the High Courts in
the hierarchy. Civil matters of a monetary amount less than Rs 20 lakh but more than 3 lakh are
tried in the District and City Civil Courts. The difference between District and City Civil Courts lies
between their locations. District Courts are located in districts, whereas City Civil Courts in cities.
● Lower Courts: Lower Courts in India include Munsif Courts and Small Causes Court. They form the
lowest strata of judicial hierarchy. These courts can try matters of monetary value less than Rs. 3
lakh.
● Other courts that are operational in India and deal cases of specific concerns include Family
Courts, Consumer Courts, and various tribunals.
Functions of civil law
The core function of Civil Law is to resolve
disagreements and disputes between
individuals, families or organizations by providing
due and equitable compensations to the
victims. Unlike Criminal Law, The Civil law focuses
more on the providing compensation to the
victims rather than giving punishment to the
accused. There are Civil Law Courts which take
and resolve civil matters with the help of refined
lawyers and judges.
Matters covered by Civil Law
Being one of most diverse laws, the Civil law
covers a variety matters related to
day-to-day life. The scope of Civil Law is very
extensive as it covers the following areas of
Law:
Real Estate Law: All the matters related to
property, rent, buying/selling of a house,
landlord problems/harassment etc are
covered under this body of law.
Business or Commercial Law: Business
ethics related to B2B organizations, Fraud,
employee-employer complaints etc are
covered under this body of law.
Consumer Law: All the matters related to
the consumer law like unjust pricing,
non-fulfilment of consented products etc falls
under this law.
Tax Law: Every matter based on taxation
like the application of GST and other taxes,
fair taxation as per the government etc are
covered under this body of law.
Contract law
● This is the first branch of civil law which deals with a mutual
agreement that occurs between multiple parties.
● This can be illustrated by an example in which two parties get into
an agreement concerning an apartment lease.
● Such contracts either can be oral or written depending on the
needs of the parties

Tort Law
● Tort law is a branch of civil law that is concerned with personal injury and civil
wrongdoing.
● A tort is a civil wrong, done by one person or entity to another which results in
injury or property damage, and frequently involves monetary compensation
to the injured party.
● There are three categories of torts: negligence, intentional tort, and strict
liability.

Negligence is an unintentional tort, to which there are four elements that must be
satisfied.

1. Duty. The defendant had a duty to act in a reasonable manner

2. Breach of Duty, meaning that the defendant failed to act reasonably
3. Causation. The defendant’s breach of duty must be the cause of the
plaintiff’s injury or loss
4. Damages. Monetary, property, or other loss
Family Law
● Family law is the branch of civil law that deals with marriage, divorce, annulment, child
custody, adoption, birth, child support, and any other issues affecting families.
● This branch of civil law is unique in that there is not necessarily a person who committed a
civil wrong.
● This is particularly true in states that have no-fault divorces.
● The family court gets involved with dividing up property and finances after a divorce,
establishing child custody, child support, and spousal support among other things.
● Some newer areas that fall under the family law umbrella are same-gender marriage,
artificial conception, surrogate motherhood, in vitro fertilization, and palimony.

Property Law
● Property law covers both personal property and real property.
● Personal property can be tangible, such as jewelry, animals, and merchandise, or intangible such as
patents, copyrights, stocks, and bonds.
● Real property refers to land and anything built on it that cannot be easily removed, as well as anything
under the surface of the land, such as oil and minerals.
● There are two types of property law torts: trespass and conversion.
● Trespass to chattels refers to a defendant intentionally and physically interfering with the plaintiff’s
right to possession and use of their personal property.
● Trespass to land occurs when a defendant enters plaintiff’s private property without consent of
the plaintiff.
● Conversion refers to a defendant depriving a plaintiff of their personal property without the
plaintiff’s consent, and then using the plaintiff’s property as his own.
Civil Case Example
While the lawsuit against McDonald’s made national headlines, the facts of the case regarding negligence, defective product, and
breach of implied warranty make a fascinating civil case.

Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants CV-93-02419, 1995

(N.M. Dist., Aug. 18, 1994)
This case began when 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, who was a passenger in her grandson’s car, purchased a cup of coffee at
McDonald’s drive-through. While the car was still parked, Liebeck removed the lid from the cup to add some creamer to her coffee,
inadvertently dropping the cup and spilling the scalding hot coffee on her lap. Liebeck suffered third-degree, deep tissue burns on her
legs that required multiple surgeries and skin grafts.

Liebeck filed a civil lawsuit against McDonald’s for her injuries under the torts of strict liability and negligence. This case was
controversial in that the media portrayed Liebeck’s civil lawsuit as frivolous because she was suing over coffee being too hot.
However, the damages to her body, her pain and suffering, loss of income, and loss of enjoyment in life due to pain were real and she
did prevail in court. The jury found that the defendant’s product (the coffee) was defective (too hot to drink) and this constituted a
breach of implied warranty (the assumption that the coffee was safe to drink). The jury also found that Liebeck was twenty percent at
fault for her injuries.
Conclusion

One of the primary objectives of the law and the judicial machinery is to
address civil lawsuits. A disagreement between various persons and
institutions is a common manifestation of human nature. The rationale
behind the formulation of civil law is to solve disputes between individuals in
an impartial manner. The disputes that fall under the scope of civil laws are
entitled to get civil remedies.

Civil Law is one of the most diverse fields of law. However, the legal structure
of India makes it difficult to classify the laws and legislation into separate
water-type compartments. Many areas of civil law overlap with criminal or
constitutional law. However, civil laws form a gigantic part of the legal and
judicial system in India. It is through civil regulations that law can serve one of
its primary objectives of dispute resolution and monetary compensation.
Ref links

https://www.bookmyessay.com/civil-law-assignment/

https://yourstory.com/mystory/2a21a79849-the-civil-law-in-india/amp

https://www.vskills.in/certification/blog/indian-laws-types/

https://www.rajras.in/introduction-to-law/

https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/civil-law-versus-criminal-law/