Civil - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition civil

Definition :

Civil, may stand, according to the context, for the opposite of criminal, of ecclesiastical, of military, or of political.

1. of or relating to the State or its citizenry. 2. of or relating to any of the modern legal system derived from Roman Law. 3. of or relating to private rights and remedies that are sought by a action or suit, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn.

Civil, the Court of Appeal pointed out that the description of the relevant provisions as being 'Civil' did not preclude it from finding that a provision was, in effect, criminal in nature, R. (Mudie) v. Dover Magistrates' Ct (CA), 2003 2 WLR 1344.