Basic Classifications of Law

Where does law come from? How do individuals and businesses know right from wrong? Not all actions that are considered “wrong” or inappropriate are violations of the law. They simply may represent social norms. So what is the difference? There are two types of rules in our society—social norms and laws.

Social norms are the informal rules that govern behavior in certain groups, cultures, and societies. Social norms and cultural expectations may be violated with negative social or professional consequences for doing so. However, no legal repercussions follow violating social norms alone.

Violations of law are different. Violating the law carries penalties, such as civil liability, fines, or loss of liberty. While it is optional to conform to social customs, people are compelled to obey the law under threat of penalty.

Laws are generally classified as public law or private law. Public law applies to everyone as a group (hence, the public), as opposed to an individual party. It is law that has been created by a legitimate authority with the power to create law, and it applies to the people within its jurisdiction. In the United States, the lawmaking authority itself is also subject to those laws, because no one is “above” the law. If the law is violated, penalties may be levied against violators. Examples of public law include constitutions, criminal laws, and administrative laws. For example, if someone steals items from a store, the thief is violating public law. He committed the crime of theft which affects the community as a whole (not just the store owners), and the crime is defined in public legislation.

Private law is law that is binding on individual parties, their properties, and their relationships. For instance, parties to a contract are involved in a private law agreement. The terms of the contract apply to the parties of the contract but not anyone else. If the parties have a contract dispute, the terms of the contract and the remedy for breach will apply only to the parties of the contract. In addition to contracts, other examples of private law include tort and property laws. For example, if someone installs an industrial smoker on his property and the smoke creates a dense haze in the neighbor’s yard, there may be a violation of private law because the smoke is interfering with the neighbor’s right to peacefully enjoy one’s property.

Laws are also classified as civil or criminal. Civil law is usually brought by a private party (referred to as a plaintiff) against another private party (referred to as a defendant). For example, one company decides to sue another for breach of contract. Or a customer sues a business when injured by the company’s product. Most laws affecting businesses are civil.

Criminal law involves a governmental decision to prosecute someone (referred to as a defendant) for violating a criminal statute. If someone breaks a criminal law, he or she could lose their freedom (i.e. be sent to prison) or lose their life (i.e. if convicted of a capital offense). In a civil action, no one is sent to prison. Usually, liability results in the loss of property such as money or assets.

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Table Civil and Criminal Law Comparisons

	Civil	Criminal
Source of Law	statute or common law	statutes defining crimes
Who files the case?	business or individual suffering harm (referred to as the plaintiff)	the government (e.g., District Attorney/prosecutor)
Burden of Proof	preponderance of the evidence (i.e., the credible evidence presented is convincing enough to determine that the plaintiff's claim is more likely than not to be true)	beyond a reasonable doubt (i.e., the credible evidence presented is so convincing that no doubt about the defendant's guilt is rational)
Remedy	damages, injunction, specific performance	punishment (e.g. fine or imprisonment)
Purpose	provide compensation or private relief	protect society

Additionally, some laws are substantive and some laws are procedural. Substantive laws define the rights and obligations of an individual, entity, or government in a particular community, including types of conduct, liability, and remedies. For example, if someone drives 50 miles per hour 40-mile-per-hour-hour zone, they have broken the substantive rule of law governing the speed limit. If the driver accidentally hits and harms another vehicle or person, the substantive rule of law governing negligence (i.e., harm caused unintentionally) determines what needs to be proven for the injured party to receive a remedy awarded in court in a lawsuit.

Procedural laws, on the other hand, prescribe the legal steps, processes, and rules enforcing the law and managing court proceedings, such as lawsuits, rules of evidence, when someone's constitutional rights are violated, etc. Relating to the examples above, procedural law governs how and what gets decided in court related to the speeding ticket, including whether the driver is entitled to a hearing before a judge, whether they have a right to be represented by legal counsel, whether the hearing takes place within a certain amount of time after the ticket was issued, and what type of evidence can be presented are procedural law issues. Likewise, in a lawsuit for negligence, procedural laws govern the methods and stages of conducting lawsuits.

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Attributions and Licensing

Except where otherwise noted, this page's content is adapted from Sources and Types of Law in Business Law I Essentials by Mirande Valbrune and Renee De Assis (2024), used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.