Hello, I'm Mrs. Barry and I'm going to be your Citizenship teacher today.

I'm really looking forward to doing this lesson with you.

So let's make a start together.

Today's lesson comes from the unit: What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Legal System? This lesson is called What is the Difference Between Civil and Criminal Law? Our outcome for today is to identify the difference between criminal and civil offences and explain how criminal and civil cases are dealt with.

Some of this learning might be new to you, but that's okay because we are here to work together.

But by the end of the lesson, we'll achieve this outcome.

Before we start today's lesson, we're gonna have a look at some ground rules.

So Laura tells us to "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions, or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person." Andeep tells us to "Respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves." Izzy tells us to "Choose level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." And Jacob reminds us "Not to make any judgements.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged." In today's lesson, there's a range of keywords that we are going to have to look at.

So let's go through these together.

Civil law is a law that deals with disputes between individuals or groups.

There are civil courts which award damages or a money payment.

Criminal law is a law that deals with individuals who break the law and seek to punish an offence because the offender has broken laws that Parliament has stated we must all obey.

We're going to use the term law, which are rules usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way in which a society behaves.

Offence, which is an act or behaviour that violates a law and is punishable by the legal system.

And court: a formal legal institution where disputes are heard and resolved and where justice is administered according to the law.

So our lesson on what is the difference between criminal and civil law will be in two parts today.

We're going to make a start by looking at: how do we define civil and criminal law? So here we have criminal law and civil law, and we're gonna take a look at the difference.

Criminal law is when someone breaks a law.

And criminal law describes offences that are committed against society.

Civil law is where there is a dispute between two people.

Usually civil law cases are brought when someone feels damage has been done to them.

I wonder if you can think of any examples of both? Okay, let's take a look.

So you might have said the following things> So an example of a criminal offence might be murder, theft or criminal damage.

Whereas an example of a civil offence might be noise disputes, neighbour disputes, or nonfulfillment of a contractual obligation.

Well done if you thought of any of those.

So let's have a quick check of what we've got so far.

Which of these correctly defines civil law? Is it A: a crime against society, B: a dispute between individuals, or C: an instance where a law is broken? So well done if you identified that civil law is a dispute between individuals.

That's absolutely right.

So in a criminal law case, the person charged with an offence is called a defendant, and the Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, brings the case on behalf of the monarch.

In a civil law case, the person who brings the case is called the claimant, and the person who is accused is still called a defendant.

If the claimant wins, they're awarded what we call damages.

Here we've got Laura, she says, "So, civil law is a type of law that deals with disputes between individuals or groups." And Aisha says "Yes, and criminal law is when someone breaks the law.

These are usually crimes against society." So criminal law seeks to punish for an offence where a civil law deals with disputes between private parties seeking compensation or remedies.

So let's check if we've got that.

Who is it that brings the case in a criminal law case, and what is the person accused of the offence called? Is it A: the claimant brings the case and the accused is called the defendant? B: the Crown Prosecution Service brings the case and the accused is called the claimant? Or C: the Crown Prosecution Service brings the case and the accused is called the defendant? I'll just give you a moment to have a think.

Okay, so the person who brings the case in a criminal law case is the Crown Prosecution Service, and the person accused of the offence is called the defendant.

So your answer should have been C: the Crown Prosecution Service brings the case and the accused is called the defendant.

So well done if you got that right.

Let's check our understanding even more.

Izzy and Jun are talking about different events that are going on in their lives.

Can you identify which is a civil offence and which is a criminal offence? So Izzy says, "My parents have been arguing with a neighbour about a tree that hangs over our garden." Where Jun says, "My aunt is having issues with her house too.

Last week someone sprayed graffiti on the side of her house." So which one of those is a civil offence and which is a criminal offence? And then when you've done that, can you write two or three more examples of civil offences and criminal offences to answer question two.

So pause the video and give that a go.

And when you're done, we'll have a look at your practise answers together.

Okay, let's take a look.

So your answers to question one might look something like this.

And just to remind you, the question was, Izzy and Jun are talking about different events that are going on in their lives.

Can you identify which is a civil offence and which is a criminal offence? So Jun referred to graffiti, and this is criminal damage and therefore is a criminal offence.

Whereas Izzy referred to a dispute between her parents and neighbour, and this is a dispute between two people and therefore is a civil offence.

So well done if you got question one right.

Question two, we asked you to write two or three more examples of civil offences and criminal offences.

And these are just some of the examples that you could have included.

So for a criminal offence, you might have included: murder, theft, assault, fraud, driving under the influence, speeding or drug offences.

Whereas your list of civil offences, you might have included: noise disputes, neighbour disputes, nonfulfillment of a contractual obligation, personal injury claims and consumer disputes.

So well done for giving that one a go.

Part two of our lesson today is going to look at which courts handle civil and criminal law.

In England and Wales, there are different courts to make sure that each case is heard by the right person with the correct knowledge.

Less serious cases are dealt with in lower courts.

While more serious cases are handled in higher courts.

Civil law and criminal law cases are also heard in different types of court.

So the range of courts in the legal system helps keep things organised so each case gets the right level of attention and care.

It means the right people are going to be able to make a judgement on what's going on.

The more serious or more complicated the case, the higher the court it goes to.

Civil and criminal cases are dealt with in different courts as the nature of the offences are different and require different approaches.

Remember we've already looked at the difference between civil offences and criminal offences, and we've identified the different types of issues that might occur to fall into those categories.

The civil law and criminal law courts are structured like this.

So for a criminal court system, we might start in the magistrates court, then go to the crown court, a court of appeal, and at the very top, the Supreme Court.

Civil courts, they start in the county courts, they might move up to the High Court of Justice.

They also have a court of appeal.

And then again at the top there we have the Supreme Court.

It's really important to remember that both use the Supreme Court and the court of appeal in their court structure.

It's something they both have in common.

So there are six courts in the legal system in England and Wales, that we've just gone through.

And I wonder if you can look at the list below and identify which two courts are missing.

So as Alex is telling us, "The two courts missing are the magistrates courts and the Supreme Court." So well done if you identified that those two were the two missing.

So we're gonna have a look at criminal law cases and the courts that they go to.

They might start in a magistrates court and all criminal cases start in this magistrates court.

Depending on the severity, the case will either remain there in the magistrates court or be sent to the crown court for trial.

And if they're sent to the crown court, cases are heard there when they're not suitable for the magistrates court.

A jury decides innocence or guilt and then a judge will pass sentence, if necessary.

So offences in criminal law cases can usually be categorised into three types, which are heard in different courts.

You might get summary offences, which are the least serious offences and might include low level motoring offences.

And they're heard in magistrates courts.

You get either way offences and these can be heard in either magistrates or crown courts, hence they're called either way offences, and that might include things like theft.

And then you get indictable offences, which are more serious offences, for example: assault, murder.

And these are heard in crown courts.

So let's have a quick check of what we've understood.

So which one of the following courts features a jury? Is it A: county court, B: high court, C: Supreme Court, or D: crown court? So well done if you identified that the court that features a jury is a crown court.

So let's have a look at civil law cases and the courts that they use.

So civil cases start in the county court and the value of your case determines the court that you're in.

So for small claims, it's less than 10,000 pounds.

You get fast-track court, which a claims worth between 10 and 25,000 pounds.

And a multi-track court, which is for claims over 25,000 pounds.

Sometimes cases go to the High Court of Justice, and this deals with appeals from the county court.

An appeal is when you're unhappy with the decision that's been given.

And so it might end up here.

And this is also split into different areas.

So we have the King's Bench, which is contract law or personal injury, chancery, which is business and property.

And then we have family which is divorce and custody.

In civil law cases, sometimes the best form of settlement is outside of court.

And this process is actively encouraged for a number of reasons.

I wonder if you can think what they might be.

Why is it that it might be better to settle outside of court in a civil law case than inside court? Have a quick think.

Okay, so I wonder if you've got any of these examples.

So it's more cost effective, in that it saves you money, it saves time, it's less stressful and it's more flexible.

So when this happens, this is known as alternate dispute resolutions or ADR.

So civil law and criminal law cases might end up in one of these two courts.

So we have the court of appeal, which is the court of appeal, that is a higher court that hears appeals from lower courts, reviewing decisions to determine if legal errors were made.

And at the very top of both of these systems, we have the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court is the highest court in the UK, serving as the final court of appeal for civil law and criminal law cases and interpreting UK law.

Lets have a true or false question.

See how we're getting on.

County and high courts deal with criminal cases.

Do you think that's true or false? So well done if you said that that's false because county and high courts actually deal with civil law cases.

The magistrates and crown courts deal with criminal law cases.

So we have to remember that they share the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, but they have these separate courts for civil and criminal law cases.

So well done if you remembered that.

Now I wonder if you can match the court with the feature that it has.

So there's four courts here, the magistrates court, crown court, county court, and high court.

And the features we've given you here is one: appeals from the county court, two: criminal law cases start here, three: has a jury, and four: civil law cases start here.

So pause the video and match them up.

And when you're ready, we can have a look together.

Okay, let's have a look.

So magistrates courts, that's where criminal law cases start.

Crown court, that's the one that has a jury.

A county court aware civil law cases start.

And that leaves the high court, which has appeals from the county court.

So let's practise what we've learned.

We're gonna have a look at what Sofia's got to say here.

And the question is this: is Sofia correct in her explanation as to why there are different courts in the legal system? And can you improve on her answer? So Sofia says this: "There are different types of courts in the legal system because they keep the system organised.

Some courts such as the Crown Court help with smaller offences, whilst other courts deal with more serious issues." Pause the video and give this a go.

And when you're ready, we can take a look together.

Okay, so was Sofia correct in her explanation as to why there are different courts in the legal system? And could you improve on her answer? Your answer might look something like this: "Sofia is right to say different courts keep the system organised.

However, the Crown Court deals with more serious criminal offences, not smaller offences.

She should have used the magistrates court as an example for smaller criminal offences instead.

She could also have mentioned that civil cases are dealt with by different courts.

All civil cases start in county courts.

Appeals can then be heard in the High Court of Justice and the highest court in both civil and criminal cases is the Supreme Court." So well done for giving that a go.

I've got some further questions here for you to practise what you've learned.

So question two asks you to explain the role of two courts which deal with civil law.

You can look at the images to help you.

Question three: explain the role of two courts which deal with criminal law.

Again, look at the images to help you.

And then question four: Can you name two courts that can be used for both criminal and civil cases? So pause the video, give it go, and then we can take a look when you're ready.

Okay, let's start taking a look.

So question two asks you to explain the role of two courts, which deal with civil law.

And your answer might look something like this.

Civil law offences are tried in either a county or high court.

All civil cases start in county courts.

It is the value of the case that determines the type of county court.

Claims of less than 10,000 pounds are heard in small claims courts, claims between 10 and 25,000 pounds are heard in fast track courts, and claims of over 25,000 pounds are heard in multi-track courts.

Appeals in civil law cases are heard in the High Court of Justice, which is also split into different divisions.

Contract law and personal injury cases are heard by the King's Bench.

Business and property are heard by Chancery.

And there is also a family court to hear divorce and custody cases.

So well done if you remembered the role of those two courts, which deal particularly with civil law.

So question three asks you to explain the role of two courts which deal with criminal law, and your answer might have included some of this: Criminal law offences are tried in either the magistrates court or high court.

Magistrates courts deal with less serious offences and preliminary hearings for more serious crimes.

Crown courts handle serious cases and include trials with juries.

And question four asked you to identify the two courts that we can use for both criminal and civil cases.

These should be the two courts that we've not mentioned so far, and your answer might have included this: Both civil law and criminal law cases can be sent to the Court of appeal and the Supreme Court.

So well done for giving that one a go.

So well done for working through today's lesson, and we've done a lot of learning.

And here's a summary for you of what you should now understand.

So criminal law deals with actions that are considered offences against society.

It includes offences like robbery and assault.

Civil law deals with disputes between individuals or groups.

It includes offences like neighbour disputes and breaches of contract.

There are different courts which deal with criminal and civil offences.

Criminal law cases are heard in either magistrates courts or crown courts whereas civil law cases are heard in either county courts or high courts.

Both criminal law and civil law cases can progress to the court of appeal and the Supreme Court.

The type of court used depends not only on whether an offence is criminal or civil, but also on how serious the offence is.