CIVIL ACTION - The generic term
used to describe court proceedings that are not criminal
in nature. This includes lawsuits by private parties
as well as those involving governments. Except in
cases concerning civil contempt (actually a quasi-criminal
matter) there is seldom a possibility of incarceration
to the losing party.
In most jurisdictions actions are divided only into
two kinds, namely, criminal and civil. A criminal
action is prosecuted by the state as a party, against
a person charged with a public offence, for the punishment
thereof. Every other action is a civil action. In
common parlance, however, writs of mandamus, certiorari,
habeas corpus, etc., are not comprised by the expression.
