Violations of private law

Any law concerning a society's internal affairs that is not concerned with crime, that is, with grievous offences by an individual against the moral standards of society - and therefore an offence against the state - will probably come into the area of law governing private controversies between persons, or organizations construed as legal entities. Trials in these cases are held in civil as opposed to criminal courts. Offences include those applying to contracts between parties, as for example, breach of contract; acts of negligence which result in personal injuries or property damages; and intentional performances of acts resulting in injuries or damage. Intentional and negligent acts come under the heading of tort law. Examples of offences or torts are: battery or physical contact with another without his consent; slander; libel; false arrest; and malicious prosecution. Another kind of tort is the unreasonable use of one individual's property to the detriment of others, such as creating a nuisance. The violations of contract, tort and other private law, particularly those applying to marriage, clog the civil judicial system in many countries. Present trends in offences seem to indicate either a lessening of moral standards, or a change in standards which makes some civil laws obsolete.