# Civil wrong

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{{Short description|Cause of action in civil (non-criminal) law}}
{{Distinguish|Civil offence|Municipal offense}}
A '''civil wrong''' or '''wrong''' is a [cause of action](/source/cause_of_action) under civil law. Types include [tort](/source/tort), [breach of contract](/source/breach_of_contract) and [breach of trust](/source/English_trust_law).<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1982|pp=9–10.}}</ref>

Something that amounts to a civil wrong is '''wrongful'''. A wrong involves the violation of a [right](/source/legal_right) because wrong and right are contrasting terms.<ref>{{harvp|Clerk|1989|loc=para. 1–14 at p. 12.}}</ref> An 1860 legal ruling stated that: "It is essential to an action in tort that the act complained of should under the circumstances be legally wrongful as regards the party complaining; that is, it must prejudicially affect him in some legal right".<ref>Rogers v Rajendro Dutt (1860) 13 Moo P C 209, 9 WR 149, 15 [ER](/source/English_Reports) 78, quoted in House of Lords, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldjudgmt/jd060329/watkin-1.htm Watkins (Respondent) v. Home Office (Appellants) and others], [2006] UKHL 17.</ref>

The law that relates to civil wrongs is part of the branch of the law that is called the [civil law](/source/civil_law_(common_law)).<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1982|p=2.}}</ref> A civil wrong can be followed by [civil proceeding](/source/civil_proceeding)s.<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1982|p=3.}}</ref> It is a misnomer to describe a civil wrong as a "[civil offence](/source/civil_offence)".<ref>{{harvp|Williams|1982|p=4.}}</ref> The [law of England](/source/law_of_England) recognised the concept of a wrong before it recognised the distinction between civil wrongs and [crime](/source/crime)s in the 13th century.<ref>{{harvp|Phillips|1960|pp=207, 208, 213.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Civil penalty](/source/Civil_penalty)
*[Misconduct](/source/Misconduct)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
*{{cite book |title=Clerk and Lindsell on Torts |edition=16 |date=1989 |publisher=[Sweet & Maxwell](/source/Sweet_%26_Maxwell) |last=Clerk |first=J. F. |isbn=9780421377608}}
*{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=O. Hood |author-link=Owen Hood Phillips |title=[A First Book of English Law](/source/A_First_Book_of_English_Law) |publisher=Sweet & Maxwell |location=London |edition=4 |date=1960}}
*{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Glanville |author-link=Glanville Williams |date=1982 |title=[Learning the Law](/source/Learning_the_Law) |edition=11 |location=London |publisher=Stevens |isbn=9780420463005}}
{{refend}}

{{Miscarriage of Justice}}

{{law-term-stub}}

Category:Civil law (common law)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Civil wrong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_wrong) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_wrong?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.