The Law is a body of rules:
Law is divided into:
The branch of law that defines crimes and provides for their punishment. A crime is regarded as an offence committed against the public, even though only one individual may have been wronged. A person accused of a criminal offence is prosecuted by the state. For the state to win the case the charge must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
If the state's prosecution succeeds it will seek a punishment of the offender which may be a FINE or a term of IMPRISONMENT.
Criminal law is governed by statutes of parliament as is punishments for crime.
Civil law concerns TORT law and CONTRACT law. A tort is a civil wrong committed against an individual. The individual who is injured or who has suffered loss may pursue at his/her discretion a remedy, which may be damages or an injunction.
In a civil law court, the person who pursues a remedy (the person who has been wronged) is called the plaintiff. The person who is accused of having perpetrated the wrong is called the defendant.
Damages take the form of a monetary payment from the defendant to the plaintiff.
An injunction is a court order to do something (e.g. mend the broken fence) or to stop doing something (e.g. stop the production of book in which it is claimed tehre is a breach of copyright).
Unlike a crime, the plaintiff's case need only be proven on the balance of probabilities (i.e. that is easier than proving beyond all reasonable doubt).