Criminal justice is not criminal law! I think it’s normal to refer to part of civil litigation under the broader umbrella of “criminal justice” but maybe I am wrong? Like, I guess I have never heard the term “civil justice” used instead, and I don’t know of a better term that clearly spans both.
Like, I guess I have never heard the term “civil justice” used instead, and I don’t know of a better term that clearly spans both
Just realized I never responded to this—I would just use the term “civil law” (as I did). For a term that covers both, “the legal system” perhaps, altho it’s a bit too broad, and you’re right that there’s not a great option.
Fwiw, “civil justice” is in fact used to refer to (many?) parts of the (US?) justice system where people entities sue each other. It’s true the phrase is less common (in part because criminal justice reform is a hot button issue) and I’m not surprised you haven’t heard it.
Huh, OK, I am convinced. Do you know of any umbrella term that would meaningfully cover both? “Legal justice”? Not sure whether I ever heard that one before, but maybe it’s real.
I think depends on context and what you’re trying to use the term for. In the original sentence that was quoted, I think “the justice system” or “law enforcement” would have worked though colloquially, some people would have misunderstood both as just implying the criminal side.
I think “the legal system,” “legal conflict,” or just “the law” also would’ve basically worked though each might have a slightly different connotation.
Violating a civil court order can result in prison time, and if you get convicted in civil court, the police will enforce that judgement, so seems like it has all three?
I agree one could maybe make some argument that it’s not “criminal justice” until you “commit a crime by violating a civil court order”, but that seems confused to me, especially when thinking about things like enforcement and discovery dynamics. The civil courts power is directly downstream of its ability to enforce its judgements using criminal punishments.
Also, separately, that article sure is very America-centric. For example Germany has one set of courts for both criminal and civil cases, IIRC.
I can’t comment on how things work in Germany, since they have a very different structure of law (that my guess is English-language terms are not well-designed for), but:
I agree one could maybe make some argument that it’s not “criminal justice” until you “commit a crime by violating a civil court order”
This is what I think—in particular, the “criminal justice system” is the system that involves dealing with crimes, and the “civil law system” is the system that involves dealing with civil wrongs. You’re correct that they relate, but there are enough distinctions (who brings cases, proof standards, typical punishments, source of the laws) that I think it makes sense to distinguish them. I further think that most people with enough context to know the difference between civil and criminal law would not guess that a similarly informed person would use the term “criminal justice system” to cover civil law.
Criminal justice is not criminal law! I think it’s normal to refer to part of civil litigation under the broader umbrella of “criminal justice” but maybe I am wrong? Like, I guess I have never heard the term “civil justice” used instead, and I don’t know of a better term that clearly spans both.
Just realized I never responded to this—I would just use the term “civil law” (as I did). For a term that covers both, “the legal system” perhaps, altho it’s a bit too broad, and you’re right that there’s not a great option.
Fwiw, “civil justice” is in fact used to refer to (many?) parts of the (US?) justice system where people entities sue each other. It’s true the phrase is less common (in part because criminal justice reform is a hot button issue) and I’m not surprised you haven’t heard it.
Here’s an example of a reputable seeming organisation using it this way. https://instituteforlegalreform.com/blog/what-is-civil-justice-and-why-is-it-important/
Huh, OK, I am convinced. Do you know of any umbrella term that would meaningfully cover both? “Legal justice”? Not sure whether I ever heard that one before, but maybe it’s real.
I think depends on context and what you’re trying to use the term for. In the original sentence that was quoted, I think “the justice system” or “law enforcement” would have worked though colloquially, some people would have misunderstood both as just implying the criminal side.
I think “the legal system,” “legal conflict,” or just “the law” also would’ve basically worked though each might have a slightly different connotation.
I would not use the term “criminal justice” to describe civil law, since civil law deals with civil wrongs rather than crimes.
Relevant evidence from the Wikipedia page on Criminal justice:
Civil law lacks parts 1 and 3.
Violating a civil court order can result in prison time, and if you get convicted in civil court, the police will enforce that judgement, so seems like it has all three?
I agree one could maybe make some argument that it’s not “criminal justice” until you “commit a crime by violating a civil court order”, but that seems confused to me, especially when thinking about things like enforcement and discovery dynamics. The civil courts power is directly downstream of its ability to enforce its judgements using criminal punishments.
Also, separately, that article sure is very America-centric. For example Germany has one set of courts for both criminal and civil cases, IIRC.
I can’t comment on how things work in Germany, since they have a very different structure of law (that my guess is English-language terms are not well-designed for), but:
This is what I think—in particular, the “criminal justice system” is the system that involves dealing with crimes, and the “civil law system” is the system that involves dealing with civil wrongs. You’re correct that they relate, but there are enough distinctions (who brings cases, proof standards, typical punishments, source of the laws) that I think it makes sense to distinguish them. I further think that most people with enough context to know the difference between civil and criminal law would not guess that a similarly informed person would use the term “criminal justice system” to cover civil law.
Having spent two years in law school, I feel pretty confident that Daniel’s right about this.