We first explored the underlying purposes of Tort law. We compared and contrasted these purposes to those of the Criminal Law and of Contract Law. We saw that the major purpose of Tort law is to compensate victims of tortious conduct for injuries they have suffered.
Torts arise by operation of law to protect individuals from wrongful conduct of others.
The Criminal Law, while having some similar overall purposes, seeks to protect society as a whole, and not focus on the individual. Wrongful behavior towards an individual is a wrong to society, and society prosecutes the wrongdoer to punish, deter and rehabilitate. The Criminal law does not seek to compensate the victim. Contract law seeks to protect rights created between parties by their mutual agreement. While it provides remedies to the victim of a breach of contract, the rights protected by the law grow out of the relationship created by the intention of the parties, and belong only to those parties, and not to other members of society.