Please note that this website has a UK government accesskeys system.
Civil law mostly involves disputes between people, companies or other organisations. If you sue another person or a corporation, or if somebody files a lawsuit against you, your case will end up in a civil court.
Civil justice in England and Wales is usually dealt with by the county courts and the High Court.
The High Court handles bigger and more complicated cases, while most county court cases are between people or companies who believe that someone owes them money.
County courts also handle cases involving family issues, such as divorce, custody, and adoption.
Most civil disputes never actually go to court, and most of those that do go to court never result in a trial. That's because many cases are resolved out of court, with everyone involved reaching a compromise.
Going to court should always be the last resort. There are now a number of other ways of sorting problems without court action. These include arbitration, mediation and ombudsmen schemes.
Those are often called 'alternative dispute resolution' schemes.
Court rules require you to think about whether an alternative resolution is a better way to handle a dispute than going to court.
Most civil cases in Scotland are handled in the Sheriff Courts. These cases can include debt, claims for compensation, divorce, eviction and anti-social behaviour.
The Court of Session is the highest civil court in Scotland and is the court of appeal for most civil matters.
Tribunals in Scotland deal with a range of matters, including employment, immigration, social security and tax.
The Northern Ireland Court Service is responsible for the Northern Ireland Supreme Court, county courts, magistrates' courts, coroners' courts and for certain tribunals.
County courts and magistrates' courts are different from those in England and Wales, because they also deal with appeals from the magistrates courts in both criminal and civil cases.
Find out more about Northern Ireland's courts by following the link below.
Find out what's being done about crime and anti-social behaviour where you live
