Civil procedure

Civil procedure is the body of that sets out the rules and standards that s follow when    (as opposed to  in  matters). These rules govern how a or  may be commenced; what kind of  (if any) is required; the types of s or, s or applications, and s allowed in civil cases; the timing and manner of s and  or disclosure; the conduct of s; the process for ; the process for post-trial procedures; various available ; and how the courts and clerks must function.

Differences between civil and criminal procedure
Some systems, including the and, allow governmental persons to bring a  against another person. Prosecutions are nearly always started by the in order to punish the accused. s, on the other hand, are started by private s, companies or organizations, for their own benefit. In addition, governments (or their subdivisions or agencies) may also be parties to civil actions. The cases are usually in different courts. However this is distinguished from civil penal actions.

In jurisdictions based on English common-law systems, the party bringing a criminal charge (in most cases, the state) is called the "prosecution", but the party bringing most forms of civil action is the "plaintiff" or "claimant". In both kinds of action the other party is known as the "defendant". A criminal case against a person called Ms. Sanchez would be described as “The People v. (= "versus", "against" or "and") Sanchez,” "The State (or Commonwealth) v. Sanchez" or "[The name of the State] v. Sanchez" in the United States and “R. (Regina, for "" but spoken as "The Crown") v. Sanchez” in England and Wales, amongst other. But a civil action between Ms. Sanchez and a Mr. Smith would be “Sanchez v. Smith” if it were started by Sanchez, and “Smith v. Sanchez” if it were started by Mr. Smith (though the order of parties' names can change if the case is appealed).

Most countries make a clear distinction between civil and criminal procedure. For example, a may force a convicted defendant to pay a fine as punishment for his crime, and the s of both the  and defence. But the victim of the generally pursues his claim for  in a civil, not a criminal, action. In France and England, however, a victim of a crime may incidentally be awarded compensation by a criminal court.

Evidence from a is generally admissible as evidence in a civil action about the same matter. For example, the victim of a road accident does not directly benefit if the driver who injured him is found guilty of the crime of careless driving. He still has to prove his case in a civil action, unless the doctrine of applies, as it does in most American jurisdictions. In fact he may be able to prove his civil case even when the driver is found not guilty in the criminal trial, because the standard to determine guilt is higher than the standard to determine fault. However, if a driver is found by a civil jury not to have been negligent, a prosecutor may be estopped from charging him criminally.

If the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable, the main remedy in a civil court is the amount of, or "damages", which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff. Alternative civil remedies include restitution or transfer of property, or an injunction to restrain or order certain actions.

The are higher in a  case than in a civil one, since the state does not wish to risk punishing an innocent person. In the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal “”; but the  in a civil action is required to prove his case “on the balance of probabilities”. Thus, in a criminal case a crime cannot be proven if the person or persons judging it doubt the guilt of the suspect and have a reason (not just a feeling or intuition) for this doubt. But in a civil case, the court will weigh all the evidence and decide what is most probable.

Civil procedural types
Civil procedure is traditionally divided into and.