What type of law handles disputes between individuals or organizations?

Civil law is the branch of law that addresses disputes between individuals or organizations. It encompasses a wide range of legal actions, including contracts, torts, property disputes, and family law issues. The primary focus of civil law is to resolve these conflicts and provide restitution or remedies to the aggrieved party rather than to punish the wrongdoer, which is the focus of criminal law.

In civil law cases, the injured party (plaintiff) typically seeks compensation or specific performance from the party allegedly responsible for the damage (defendant). This legal framework is structured around protecting individual rights and ensuring that parties involved in disputes can seek redress through the legal system.

Criminal law, on the other hand, addresses offenses against the state or public, with actions typically prosecuted by the government. Common law refers more to the legal system based on judicial precedents rather than statutory laws, and international law deals with legal agreements and relations between sovereign nations. Each of these fields highlights different aspects of law and jurisdiction, which is why civil law stands out as the area focused on individual and organizational disputes.