# Outline of civil law (common law)

Civil law – a branch of the law. In common law countries such as England, Wales, and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law relating to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts is part of the civil law. The law of property is embraced by civil law. Civil law can, like criminal law, be divided into substantive law and procedural law. The rights and duties of individuals amongst themselves is the primary concern of civil law. It is often suggested that civil proceedings are taken for the purpose of obtaining compensation for injury, and may thus be distinguished from criminal proceedings, whose purpose is to inflict punishment. However, exemplary or punitive damages may be awarded in civil proceedings.

## What type of thing is civil law?

Civil law (in common law countries) can be described as all of the following:
* Branch of law dealing with non-criminal cases

## Branches of civil law
### Substantive civil law

Substantive law
* Art and culture law
* Civil rights
* Commercial law
** Contract law
*** Australian contract law
*** Canadian contract law
*** English contract law
*** Scots contract law
*** United States contract law
** Labor law
* Environmental law
* Family law
* Property law
** Cultural property law
** Intellectual property law
** Trust law
* Tort law
** Personal injury
** Tort law by common law country
*** Tort law in Australia
*** Canadian tort law
*** English tort law
*** Scots tort law
*** United States tort law

### Procedural civil law

Procedural law
* Civil procedure

## History of civil law

* History of company law in the United Kingdom
* History of competition law
* History of English contract law
* History of equity and trusts
* History of labour law
** History of labor law in the United States
** History of labour law in the United Kingdom

## Lawsuits

* Lawsuit – suit, action, or cause instituted or depending between two private persons in the courts of law.

## Civil procedure

Civil procedure – body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (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 pleadings or statements of case, motions or applications, and orders allowed in civil cases, the timing and manner of depositions and discovery or disclosure, the conduct of trials, the process for judgment, various available remedies, and how the courts and clerks must function.
* Service of process
* Pleading – as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another party's claims in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjudicated in the action.
** pleading in England and Wales
** pleading in United States federal courts
* Motions
** Motion in United States law
* Court orders
* Depositions
* Discovery
* Trial
* Judgments
* Legal remedies

### Civil procedure by region

* Civil procedure in Brazil
* Civil procedure in Canada
* Civil procedure in England and Wales
** Civil Procedure Rules (CPR)
* Civil procedure in South Africa
* Civil procedure in the United States
** Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

## Civil law publications

* Journal of Tort Law

## Persons influential in civil law

* Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
* William Blackstone