Civil law (common law)

Civil law is a branch of the law in common law countries.^[1] The other branch of common law is criminal law. Civil law is concerned with the duties individuals owe to other people or to their government. This excludes the duty not to commit crimes.^[1] The American form of civil justice is considerably different from European systems.^[2] Two features stand out, class actions and the awarding of punitive damages in tort cases.^[2] Many people in other countries are amazed at the number of civil cases in the United States. Americans sue in a wide variety of cases for compensation and medical expenses that are covered in other countries by national health insurance and government compensation programs.^[2]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Edward Sidlow; Beth Henschen, America at Odds (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007), p. 321
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Arthur T. von Mehren; Peter L. Murray, Law in the United States, Second Edition (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), pp. 162–163