In the world of legal matters, civil law and tort law have similar definitions. Each have jurisdiction over disputes between individuals; however, the tort and civil laws are a bit different from one another.
Civil Law
Civil law deals with disputes between private individuals. Civil law is a broad category that includes divorce and family law, contract disputes, wills and property disagreements.
Civil law is defined as:
“A body of rules that delineate private rights and remedies, and govern disputes between individuals in such areas as contracts, property, and Family Law; distinct from criminal or public law. Civil law systems, which trace their roots to ancient Rome, are governed by doctrines developed and compiled by legal scholars. Legislators and administrators in civil law countries use these doctrines to fashion a code by which all legal controversies are decided.”
Tort Law
Tort law also deals with disputes between private individuals; however, tort law is just one area under the civil law “umbrella.” Tort law helps to determine whether or not someone is legally accountable for another person’s injuries.
Tort law is defined as:
“A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or tortfeasor.”
Types of tort cases include negligence claims, intentional destructive conduct and strict liability cases.