GPOL Past Examination 2005/2006

Criminal Law is a law which to define offences in which the conducts of

threaten and harm the public safety and established the punishment to the
commission of such offences whilst civil law is a non-criminal law which include the
torts law, contract law and family law. Criminal law is enacted to preserve order in
the community by punishing the offender while the civil law is enacted to remedy
the injuries suffer by the claimant. The legal action of criminal law is enforced on the
behalf of or in the name of state whilst the legal action of civil law is initiated by a
private citizen to protest their rights against another citizen or company.

Besides, Criminal law deals with the offences whilst civil law disputes the
liability. The proceedings of Criminal offender is brought by a public prosecutor (PP)
to the court on behalf of a state while the proceedings of the civil wrong is brought
by the individual who suffered the injuries on behalf of themselves. In a case, if
criminal law is applied, the offender may be convicted once found to be guilty of the
offence, or acquitted once found that to be unguilty while if the civil law is applied
in a case, a defendant will be found either liable or not liable for the claim. In
Criminal Law, the offender may be sentenced to a penalty. For instance, fine ,
imprisonment, whipping, death sentence and the list goes on. For example, Section
302 of the Penal Code stated the punishment for murder, it declares that whoever
commits murder shall be punished with death. This section had been applied in the
case of fire tragedy involving a tahfiz school in Kampung Datuk Keramat, where 21
pupils and two wardens perished, two juveniles, both aged 16, were judge on 28 of
September 2017, a mandatory death penalty is carried out. On the other hand, in the
civil law , the claimant may be given a compensation or an equitable order of the
court, such as an injunction ( a writ issued by a court ordering someone to do
something or prohibiting some act after a court hearing ). For instance, Section 103
Of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce ) Act 164 stated the injunction against
molestation, declared that the court shall have power during the pendency of any
matrimonial proceedings or on or after the grant of a decree or divorce, judicial
separation or annulment, to order any person to refrain from forcing his or her
society on his or her spouse or former spouse and from other acts of molestation.