Exploring The Intersections Of Criminal Law And Tort: Navigating Liability And Justice

Sambit Satpathy, BBA LLB (H), KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar, India

ABSTRACT

Tort and criminal law are two fundamental branches of the legal system that govern human behaviour, providing a framework for addressing wrongful actions and maintaining societal order. This abstract explores the key distinctions and intersections between these two branches, highlighting their respective purposes, principles, and implications. Tort law primarily concerns civil wrongs and is designed to compensate individuals for harms suffered due to another's negligence, intentional wrongdoing, or strict liability. It aims to restore the injured party to their pre-injury state through the award of damages. Tort cases typically involve disputes between private individuals or entities and focus on compensation and the deterrence of harmful conduct rather than punitive measures. Criminal law deals with offenses against the state or society as a whole, and it seeks to maintain social order by punishing wrongdoers. Criminal law cases are prosecuted by the government and may result in penalties such as imprisonment, fines, or probation. The primary goals of criminal law are retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and societal protection, while tort and criminal law serve different purposes, there are instances where they overlap. The primary objectives of studying tort and criminal law are to protect individual rights, understand legal responsibilities, and ensure the fair treatment of all members of society and to deter wrongful behaviour through legal consequences and uphold principles of justice and social order. The methodology for studying tort and criminal law involves thoroughly studying textbooks, cases, statutes, and legal literature to understand key concepts and precedents, analysing real-life cases to apply legal principles, develop analytical skills, and understand how the law works in practice and conducting legal research to find relevant cases, statutes, and scholarly articles to support legal arguments and interpretations.

Keywords: Negligence, Tort & criminal law, Wrongful actions, Compensation, Intentional wrongdoing, damages, private individuals.