Tort law provides a means for parties injured by the conduct of fellow members of society to bring an action against the injuring party to personally compensate the injured party. Criminal law is analogous to tort law and often provides parallel actions. Criminal law, however, views certain types of conduct as an affront to society. Therefore, society, through the government, is granted the right to bring an action against the individual who violates society's code of conduct. It is also granted the right to impose penalties and punishment on persons who violate the code of conduct.
Property law regulates the relationship between members of society and things.
Despite this simplified overview of the categories of law, overlaps often exist between various categories. For example, property law may govern the ownership rights in real property, but contract law may be relevant to an agreement by the real property owner to sell realty to a buyer. Finally, tort and criminal law could be applicable if the seller intentionally makes material misrepresentations about the property. Predictability would be greatly enhanced if disputes were resolved by merely applying rigid black-letter rules. Once a party determines which rule applies to a specific behavior, the consequences of that behavior can be evaluated.