Editing Civil procedure

{{Short description|Rules and standards used in civil lawsuits}}
{{distinguish|Civil code}}
{{other uses|Civil law (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{tone|date=September 2013}}
{{Globalize|date=February 2011}}
}}
'''Civil procedure''' is the body of [[law]] that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that [[court]]s follow when adjudicating civil [[lawsuit]]s (as opposed to procedures in [[criminal law]] matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what kind of [[service of process]] (if any) is required; the types of [[pleading]]s or statements of case, [[Motion (legal)|motion]]s or applications, and orders allowed in civil cases; the timing and manner of [[Deposition (law)|deposition]]s and discovery or disclosure; the conduct of [[trial]]s; the process for judgment; the process for post-trial procedures; various available [[Legal remedy|remedies]]; and how the courts and clerks must function.

==Differences from criminal procedure==
In most cases, criminal prosecutions are pursued by the [[State (polity)|state]] in order to punish offenders, although some systems, such as in [[England|English]] and [[France|French]] law, allow citizens to bring a [[private prosecution]]. Conversely, [[civil action]]s are initiated by private [[individual]]s, companies or organizations, for their own benefit. Government agencies may also be a party to civil actions. Civil and criminal cases are usually heard in different courts.

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. (=&nbsp;"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. (''Rex'', [[Latin language|Latin]] for "[[King]]" but spoken as "The Crown") v. Sanchez" in England and Wales, amongst other [[Commonwealth realms]]. 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 [[Criminal law|criminal court]] may force a convicted defendant to pay a fine as punishment for their crime, and the [[criminal costs|legal cost]]s of both the [[prosecution]] and defence. But the victim of the [[crime]] generally pursues their claim for [[Damages|compensation]] in a civil, not a criminal, action.<ref name = "law1" /> In France and England, however, a victim of a crime may incidentally be awarded compensation by a criminal court [[judge]].

Evidence from a [[criminal trial]] 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 them is found guilty of the crime of careless driving. The victim still has to prove his case in a civil action, unless the doctrine of [[collateral estoppel]] applies, as it does in most American jurisdictions.<ref name = "law1" /> The victim may be able to prove their 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 them criminally.

If the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable, the main remedy in a civil court is the amount of money, or "damages", which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff.<ref name="law1">{{cite book |author-first1=Richard |author-last1=Powell|title=Law today|publisher=Longman|location=Harlow|year=1993 |pages=34|isbn=978-0-582-05635-0 |oclc=30075861}}</ref> Alternative civil remedies include restitution or transfer of property, or an injunction to restrain or order certain actions.

The [[Legal burden of proof|standards of proof]] are higher in a criminal case than in a civil one, since the state does not wish to risk punishing an innocent person. In [[English law]] the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal "[[beyond reasonable doubt]]"; but the plaintiff in a civil action is required to prove his case "on the balance of probabilities".<ref name = "law1" /> 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.

==Types==
Civil procedure is traditionally divided into [[inquisitorial system|inquisitorial]] and [[adversarial system|adversarial]].<ref>{{cite conference|ssrn=2280682|title=Civil Procedure in Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Eurasia Context|work=ssrn.com|date=18 September 2012 |last1=Storme |first1=Marcel |last2=Treushnikov |first2=Michael |last3=Gilles |first3=Peter |last4=Chase |first4=Oscar G. |last5=Varano |first5=Vincenzo |last6=Simoni |first6=Alessandro |last7=Andrews |first7=Neil H. |last8=Cohen |first8=Jerome |last9=Bocharova |first9=Nataliya |last10=Shamlikashvili |first10=Tsisana |last11=Menkel-Meadow |first11=Carrie |last12=Uzelac |first12=Alan |last13=Koller |first13=Christian |last14=Wambier |first14=Teresa |last15=Fu |first15=Yulin |last16=Chan |first16=David |last17=Chan |first17=Peter |last18=Kengyel |first18=Miklós |last19=Silvestri |first19=Elisabetta |last20=Van Rhee |first20=Cornelis Hendrik |last21=Backer |first21=Inge |last22=Nokhrin |first22=Dmitry Heroldovich |last23=Marcus |first23=Richard |last24=Maleshin |first24=Dmitry |last25=Bamford |first25=David |last26=Woo |first26=Margaret |last27=Besso |first27=Chiara |last28=Harsági |first28=Viktória |last29=Vacarelu |first29=Serban |last30=Van Loggerenberg |first30=Danie |display-authors=1|url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2280682|editor-last=Maleshin|editor-first=Dmitry|conference=IAPL World Conference on Civil Procedure|location=Moscow|access-date=10 May 2023|publisher=International Association of Procedural Law|id=UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-119, University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 25/2013}}</ref>

==By country==
*[[Civil procedure in Australia|Australia]]
*[[Civil procedure in Brazil|Brazil]]
*[[Civil procedure in Canada|Canada]]
*[[Civil procedure in England and Wales|England and Wales]]
*[[Civil procedure code of Germany|Germany]]
*[[Code of Civil Procedure (India)|India]]
*[[:it:Codice di procedura civile|Italy]]
*[[Civil procedure code of the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
*[[Civil procedure code of Romania|Romania]]
*[[Scots civil procedure|Scotland]]
*[[Civil procedure in South Africa|South Africa]]
*[[Civil procedure in the United States|United States]]
* [[Civil procedures in Bhutan|Bhutan]]

==See also==
*[[Affirmative defense]]
*[[Case citation]]
*[[Civil Justice Fairness Act]]
*[[Criminal procedure]]
*[[Jurisdiction]]
*[[Laches (equity)|Laches]]
*[[Objection (United States law)|Objection]]
*[[Prejudice (law)]]
*[[Statute of limitations]]
*[[Summary judgment]]
*[[Time constraints]]
*[[Trial de novo]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Colin Plicker & Guy Seidman, eds. ''The dynamism of civil procedure: global trends and developments''. Cham: Springer, 2016.
* Margaret Y. K. Woo & Cornelis Hendrik van Rhee, eds. ''Comparative civil procedure''. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2025.

==External links==
{{NIE Poster|year=1905|Civil Procedure}}
*[https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules Civil Procedure Rules applying to England and Wales]
*{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/|title=Federal Rules of Civil Procedure|publisher=Cornell Law School|via=Legal Information Institute}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100414131653/http://highconstable.com/resources/ri/district_court_rules/ Rhode Island Civil Court Rules of Procedure - Optimized by a Constable from the law library at the 6th District Court of Rhode Island]

{{Law}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Procedure}}
[[Category:Civil procedure| ]]
[[Category:Legal procedure]]