Civil Law |

Civil Law

A crucial area of law known as civil law defends citizens’ private rights, gives harmed parties access to legal redress, and grants them the relief they seek in a legal dispute. It covers a wide range of legal topics, including family law, contracts, media, education, sports, and the law of the media. Instead of punishing the accused severely, this civil law seeks to settle conflicts by awarding compensation to the victims. With the aid of knowledgeable and skilful advocates and lawyers, disagreements pertaining to civil matters can be resolved in the Civil Court. Civil law is extensive and encompasses a wide range of everyday legal issues. These are the legal categories that fall under civil law, or situations where civil lawsuits may be brought.

Overview

Real Estate Law
The real estate industry is growing daily. Skyscrapers and high-rise buildings are being built everywhere. New social systems are emerging. Rera Laws have thus been passed in order to address all of these issues.

Business or Commercial Law
People start new businesses every day. Forming a corporation, shareholder rights, mergers and acquisitions, and property matters like office leases or warehouse space are all covered under business law. This branch of law covers business organization ethics, employee-employer disputes, scams, etc. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a model collection of regulations governing the sales of products, leases of things, negotiable instruments, and secured transactions, largely governs commercial law.

Education Law
This governs all issues relating to the education sector. For instance, accusations about student-teacher relationships, fake educational organization registration, or any other deception by educational businesses, etc. It guarantees every child the right to an education.

Consumer Law
This legislation focuses on defending consumers' rights. This statute applies to any case in which a consumer is a victim, and a consumer court will hear the case. This law applies to all consumer-related cases, including unfair pricing and the failure to deliver agreed-upon goods.

Tax law
The law governing taxes is crucial. There is the issue of taxes being applicable in every industry. This corpus of law covers all tax-related issues, including GST, Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax, etc.

Entertainment Law
Media and entertainment law deals with all issues relating to the entertainment sector. It addresses concerns like co-production, broadcasting, etc.

Contract Law
Contract law deals with issues relating to contracts made between two parties, including where there is a breach of the agreement. A breach of contract occurs when one party does not adhere to the terms of the agreement, which subject them to legal action under the Contract Act. It involves situations like incomplete work, unpaid bills, and delayed delivery of goods or services.

Administrative law
It is the area of law that controls how government entities operate. It is a law that has a wide scope. It covers matters pertaining to the creation of rules, judgments, or the application of a certain regulatory agenda, etc.

Sports Law
It addresses issues relating to sports. It is a combination of jurisdictions applying law to the area of sports. It covers a range of topics, including the right to sue and get compensation for injuries sustained while playing, employment contracts, harassment in sports, and agreements relating to playing time, pay, and broadcasting rights, among others.

Tort
A "tort" is a negligent act (sometimes known as a "tortuous" act), other than a breach of contract, that causes harm to someone's person, property, reputation, or something similar and for which the victim is entitled to monetary damages. Tort cases include those involving bodily injury, battery, negligence, defamation, medical malpractice, fraud, and many others that include a claim.

Property related matter
Civil courts deal with conflicts involving the ownership of property. It also addresses disagreements between landlords and tenants. Many issues with tenant eviction have come up in day-to-day life, including instances where a landlord is attempting to evict a tenant and issues with recovering security deposits.

Standard of Proof

The judge makes decisions in most civil cases using "preponderance of the evidence," or strong, corroborating evidence. It indicates that the evidence supporting one side is stronger than the other.

Civil Case procedural steps before filing

Prior-filing- Prior to engaging in formal litigation, advocates attempt to resolve conflicts through discussion, arbitration, legal notices, etc. Therefore, a party who feels aggrieved need not go through a drawn-out legal process, and preparing for proper litigation is done before filing.

Initial pleading- The pleading then begins. An angry party files a lawsuit in court, and then the court's processes begin.

Plaint copy- A court will send a copy of the plaint to the other party in the dispute once the lawsuit has been registered or lodged, along with the date of the summoning.

Pre-trial- All the evidence and witnesses should be gathered at this point. It is required to prepare written statements for filing. They could pursue an alternative method of settlement and submit motions to the court to end the dispute or narrow the topics that will be tried.

Appearance- The defendant must file the written statement on the day of their appearance. In the absence of a written statement, the court may make a determination based solely on the plaint.
Trial- Once the defendant files a written statement, the proper trial can commence. According to the court's jurisdiction, the case is now in front of the judge, who will conduct document verifications, witness interviews, evidence presentations, hearings, and arguments from both sides.
Post-trial- The judge will issue an order following the conclusion of the last round of arguments. Any person who feels wronged by the order may file an appeal with the top court. But these steps are not always followed in civil cases. There are specific procedures for some situations (summary eviction cases, for instance) that are outlined in the court's rules or in the applicable statutes.

Appeal in civil matter

The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 governs civil appeals, which are submitted in opposition to the judgment or decree in civil matters. The High Court will hear appeals of any district judge's orders or decrees. If an EX-PARTE ruling has been made, anyone may appeal

Who may file an appeal?

The party who is harmed and is a party to the litigation may file it.

The legal heirs or representative of the deceased aggrieved party may appeal or may continue the appeal.

The individual who files an appeal is referred to as the appellant, and the court that hears such cases is referred to as the appellate court.

When a high court appeal may be filed

If the person feels wronged by the district court's ruling
When a party to a case questions the court's territorial and financial jurisdiction while it is passing a ruling,
Whenever there is a problem with how the law is being interpreted
If a flaw or mistake in the court process happened in connection with the case
When the court's incompetence resulted in an injustice, none of the parties who were wronged joined the case, and the decision was made without their input. When there is a significant legal matter that affects the parties' rights

What circumstances preclude appeals

Where the original suit's worth is less than Rs. 3000, no appeal may be filed.
If the parties consented to the court's decision, no appeal may be made.
Let me briefly discuss the first appeal and second appeal concepts before moving on. A civil judgment issued by an appellate court is regarded as a first appeal, and if it is contested before the high court, it is regarded as a second appeal. Only in cases where the court has issued an Ex-Parte decree and is convinced that a major legal issue is at stake may a second appeal be brought.

Limitation Periods

According to the Limitation Act, every appeal has a deadline within which it must be filed. The appeal's limitation period changes depending on-
The deadline to file an appeal with the high court is 90 days.
The limitation period for an appeal to other courts is 30 days.
The time frame is 30 days for review in the same court.
An inexpensive court fee is required of the appellant, and after the appeal is filed, notice must be served on the opposing party.

Stay

The decision or order made by a lower court does not automatically become void upon the filing of an appeal. A stay of the decree or order issued by the lower court must first receive specific court authority, and the stay will only be effective if it is granted.

Procedure

Following fulfilment of the aforementioned requirements, an appeal may be filed.
An appeal should be clear about the justifications for the objections raised.
It must have a copy of the decree or order annexed.
Where it is the primary topic of the action, the appellant must provide the amount paid.
In the event that the court requests it, the appellant must deposit some security.
On the first day of hearings, the appellant court will choose whether to accept the appeal or to dismiss the case.
If the appeal has been granted, the case will be scheduled for hearing on the following day.
A summons must also be delivered to the opposing party.
The high court must send the lower court one notification regarding appealing a decision and contesting the validity of the decree.

Our Blog

Overview
Standard of Proof
Civil Case procedural steps before filing
Appeal in civil matter
Who may file an appeal?
When a high court appeal may be filed
What circumstances preclude appeals
Limitation Periods
Stay
Procedure
Blog