Criminal Law: Social Functions, Morality, and Civil vs. Criminal Law

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of criminal law, examining its social functions such as establishing standards, resolving disputes, maintaining order, and safeguarding individual rights and liberties. It addresses the complex relationship between law and morality, particularly in democratic societies like the United States, questioning whether legislation should reflect moral principles or be interpreted in relation to moral values. Furthermore, the essay distinguishes between civil and criminal law, highlighting differences in burden of proof, standards of evidence, and remedies, using the example of negligence to illustrate the elements required to prove a civil claim. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CRIMINAL LAW
Question 1:
It is evident that law has various functions in a society. These social functions can be
categorized as establishing standards, resolving disputes, maintaining order and protecting the
rights and liberties of the individuals. The foremost function of law is to establish standards in
order to protect the life and property of the individuals from being damaged (Moka-Mubelo).
Maintaining order and resolving disputes have been considered to be necessary in order to
comply with the guidelines of the society. In order to resolve disputes, alternative dispute
resolution has been introduced. The statutes and constitutions of the United States has provided
various rights and liberties.
There is an argument regarding the fact that whether law can express public morality and
teach the importance of societal boundaries. It is worthwhile to refer here that, issues may arise
regarding the existing relationship between law and morality in democratic countries like the
United States. Therefore, from the beginning, the makers of law have emphasized on the part that
whether the legislation should reflect moral principles or whether the nature of the laws is such
that it can be interpreted by the judges in relation to moral values and principles (Finnis). It is
noteworthy to mention here that, argument has been raised on the point that whether laws should
enforce mortality or they are binding on the concerned authority.
Question 2:
Civil law deals with disputes in organizations between individuals in which the
compensation is awarded to the victim. On the other hand, criminal law is the body of law which
deals with the nature of crime, punishment and other criminal offences. In case of civil law, the
burden of proof lies upon the claimant however; in certain situations the burden of proof may

2CRIMINAL LAW
shift to the defendant in cases involving Res Ipsa Loquitur. In case of criminal law, the defendant
is considered innocent unless proven guilty. The prosecution is at the liability to prove the
defendant guilty (Li). In case of criminal law, the standard of proof can be efficiently applied in
criminal proceedings. However, the nature of the prosecution must be such that it must prove
beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty (Bergström). If upon the presentation of
reasonable documents, the court is satisfied that the defendant must be acquitted then it will
proceed with it.
Under the provisions of the criminal law, certain factors needs to be satisfied in order
prove a civil claim. For instance, in order to prove that whether negligence has committed the
following elements needs to be proved-
I. Whether there was duty of care.
II. The nature of duty of care is such that it has been breached.
III. The breach has caused injury or harm to the person concerned.
It is worthwhile to refer here that, the nature of the standard of proof is lower in cases of
criminal trial and in cases involving civil law, the plaintiff must prove the case by depending
upon the balance of probabilities.

3CRIMINAL LAW
References:
Bergström, Maria. "Mutual Recognition in Civil and Criminal Justice: Towards Order and
Method." (2016).
Finnis, John. "The “Natural Law Tradition”." Law and Morality. Routledge, 2017. 17-20.
Li, Juquan. "Inconvertibility and Irreplaceability between Criminal and Civil Liabilities." World
Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Law and Political
Sciences 4.12 (2017).
Moka-Mubelo, Willy. "Law and Morality." Reconciling Law and Morality in Human Rights
Discourse. Springer, Cham, 2017. 51-88.