Criminal law, civil law and young people
Two very different systems share the word 'court'. Knowing which one you are in changes everything about what happens next.
Part of your national curriculum
- Law and justice: Understand the difference between criminal and civil law, and how the legal system deals with young people
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the difference between criminal and civil law, and how the legal system deals with young people
Key learning points
- • Criminal versus civil
- • Different standards of proof
- • How young people are treated
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
Criminal law, civil law and young people
An English teaching video on this topic from Mr Elliott. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Understand the difference between criminal and civil law, and how the legal system deals with young people
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Criminal versus civil
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Criminal versus civil
Criminal law deals with offences against society: the state prosecutes and the outcome may be a punishment. Civil law settles disputes between people or organisations, and the outcome is usually compensation or an order to do something.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Different standards of proof
A criminal case must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. A civil case is decided on the balance of probabilities — more likely than not. That is why the same events can fail in one court and succeed in the other.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
Who brings a criminal prosecution?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
What is the standard of proof in a civil case?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · How young people are treated
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
How young people are treated
The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10. Under-18s normally go to a youth court, which is less formal, closed to the public, and focused on preventing reoffending rather than punishment alone.
Quick check
Part 10 of 14
Quick check
Where would a 15-year-old defendant usually be tried?
Challenge round
Part 11 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ law deals with offences against society: the state prosecutes and the outcome may be a punishment.
Civil law settles disputes between ____ or organisations, and the outcome is usually compensation or an order to do something.
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Criminal law, civil law and young people
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which case would be dealt with under civil law?
2. Who brings a criminal prosecution?
3. What is the standard of proof in a civil case?
4. Where would a 15-year-old defendant usually be tried?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Should the town centre have a curfew for under-16s?
After a rise in reported vandalism, Harbrook council proposed that under-16s should not be in the town centre after 9 pm without an adult. Police recorded 62 incidents last year, most between 9 pm and midnight. Shopkeepers signed a petition supporting the plan.
A youth council objected. They pointed out that most young people in town at night were going home from sports clubs or work, that the plan punishes a whole group for the acts of a few, and that the library and the bus interchange are in the town centre. They asked instead for a late bus and a youth space.
The council voted to trial the curfew for six months and to publish the crime figures at the end.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Give the strongest point on each side of the argument, using a fact from the case.
- Whose rights and whose responsibilities are involved here? Explain both.
- Write your own view on the curfew with reasons and one example.
Reading and response
ReadingRead the case in the lesson again and write what you think should happen, and why it is fair. Use one fact from the case as evidence.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
WritingWrite your answer to the lesson's big question in full: the strongest point on each side, then your own view with reasons and an example.
250–350 words
Reading log
ReadingFind one news story this week that links to this lesson. Note the headline, where you read it, and how it connects.
1 story, 4–5 sentences
Two sides of the argument
WritingWrite the strongest point for, the strongest point against, and then your own view with a reason.
3 paragraphs
Poster or leaflet plan
DiagramPlan a leaflet that explains this right or responsibility to someone your age, then photograph it.
1 planned page
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Understand the difference between criminal and civil law, and how the legal system deals with young people