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Civil Law

International Students Living in Australia

 
Being Sued

When you injure someone or damage their property, you may be sued. This area of law is known as Civil Law. 

Civil law differs from Criminal Law – because criminal law generally involves the police and some form of criminality.

Civil Law states that if you carelessly or intentionally injure someone or damage their property they can sue you for damages. (Damages is an amount of money paid to compensate someone for their injuries or damaged property).

People in society are expected to act with reasonable care. Reasonable care will depend on your age and how capable you are of understanding the consequences of your actions. If you do not exercise reasonable care this is called being negligent. If your actions have been deemed negligent in causing injury or damage to property, you may have to pay damages to that person.

One person may not be solely responsible for the injury caused or damage to property. The court may decide that there is contributory negligence – this means both the person being sued and the person who has been injured or suffered damage to property both are responsible. It may be the case both parties are instructed to pay damages accordingly to their share of responsibility.