Classification of Law

Generally, the law can be classified into 4 major categories which are:
1. Criminal Law and Civil Law
2. Public Law and Private Law
3. Substantive law and procedural law
4. Common law and Equity

With vivid examples, below is an in-depth explanation about all classifications of law.

1. Criminal Law and Civil Law

Criminal Law
Meaning of Criminal law
Criminal law deals with behavior that can be recognized as a crime against the public,
society, or the state – even if the immediate victim is a person. Examples of the same
are murder, assault, theft and drunk driving. In criminal law, it deals with looking after
public interests. It involves punishing and rehabilitating offenders, and protecting the
society. The police and prosecutor are hired by the government to put the criminal law
into effect. Public funds are used to pay for these services. If suppose you are the victim
of the crime, you report it to the police and then it is their duty to investigate the matter
and find the suspect. In most cases, if a charge has been properly presented and if
there is evidence supporting it, the Government, not the person who complains of the
incident, prosecutes it in the courts.

Criminal law is that class of law that attracts the interests of the 21 state/public and
therefore deals with the relationship between the state and individuals. It deals with
crimes and punishments. In criminal cases, the suspect of a crime is called the accused
and those who allege suspicion towards the accused are called prosecutors. When the
case is determined the accused is either found guilty or not guilty and if guilty he is
convicted and sentenced accordingly. Example of criminal law includes law against
terrorism, money laundry, corruption, etc.
 Civil law is the class of law that regulates the relationships of individuals to which the
state has no interest at all and is not directly involved. The state only provides
institutions and a framework for the resolution of private disputes. In civil cases, the
person who sues is called the plaintiff and the person who is sued is called the
defendant. Normally punishment in a civil suit is compensation when the court finds that
the lawsuit is justifiable. Example of civil law includes the law of contract, the law of tort,
the law of marriage, labor law, etc.

Civil law can also be described as a legal system that is characteristic of continental
Europe which was highly influenced by Roman law. It is used in countries such as
France, Portugal, Germany and most countries of southern America. In civil law system
case law is of little value if at all. The basis of dispensing justice is on codes or series of
codes; the legal system of adjudication is (inquisitorial) which a judge centered system
is. This implies that civil law does not deal with only specific laws but stretches to
dealing with specific legal systems that are found in different countries especially
Europe and Africa.

Differences between Civil and Criminal Law

(Classification of law: criminal law & civil law)

S.N Civil Law Criminal Law

Individual Civil law deals with the disputes between Criminal law deals with
s and individuals, organizations, or between the two, crimes that are committed
Republic in which compensation is awarded to the against society. Criminal
victim. law is the body of law that
deals with crime and the
legal punishment of
criminal offenses.

Sanctions According to civil law, the wrongdoer has to It serves different degrees
pay compensation to the affected organization of punishment for the crime
or person. committed.
 Nature of Civil law deals with property, money, housing, Criminal law deals with
Dispute divorce, custody of a child in the event of a serious crimes like murder,
divorce, etc. rape, arson, robbery,
assault etc.

Parties Civil law is initiated by a person or The government files a

organization or also known as the plaintiff. ‘ petition in a criminal law
case.

Liability In the case of civil law, there is no punishment As a matter of criminal law,
and like criminal law, but the aggrieved party the punishment is done
guiltiness receives compensation and the dispute is according to the severity of
resolved. the offense or a fine can be
imposed.

Burden of The standard of proof is always on the person In criminal law the
proof. alleging and this standard id on the balance of standard of proof is
probabilities or rather the preponderance of “beyond reasonable
probabilities doubt”: Burden of proof is
always on the
state/government or in the
case of Tanzania the
Republic.

The similarities between Civil Law and Criminal Law

Apart from those differences, there are some areas in which civil law and criminal law
relate. These are the similarities between civil law and criminal law as listed below;

1. Both have substantive and procedural aspects.

2. Both are aimed at control/regulate the external behavior of individuals.
3. Both offer remedies to the innocent party.
 4. Both recognize, respect, and protect human rights and principles of natural justice.

5. Both use strict rules of evidence and procedures to dispense justice.

2. Public Law and Private Law

Public Law
Meaning of Public law
Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a
government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of
governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct concern to
society. The activities of the state are regulated by public law.

It determines and controls the organization and functioning of the state and also
determines the relationship of the state with its subjects. The term ‘public’ means a state
or a sovereign part of it or a body, or a person holding a delegated authority under the
state. Public law: this is the branch of law that deals with or regulates the relationships
between the state on the one hand and the citizens on the other hand, under it there are
sub categories: criminal law, constitutional law, and administrative law.

Public law can be further divided into

i. Constitutional Law: – Constitutional Law is the law that determines the nature of the
state and the structure of government. It is above and supreme from the general law
of the land. It describes the structure and function of the three organs of the state.
Ordinary law derives its value from constitutional law.
ii. Administrative Law: – Administrative law is the body of law that gives permission for
the creation of public regulatory agencies and includes all the laws, judicial decisions,
and rules. This law is created by administrative agencies and the purpose is to
implement their powers and duties in the form of rules, regulations, orders and
decisions.

iii. Criminal Law: – It is the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the
cognizance of crimes, creates charges and provides for the trial of suspects, and also
fixes the methods of punishment and treatment applicable to convicted offenders. It’s
purpose is to stop crime and punish the wrongdoer.
 Private Law
Meaning of Private law
Private law is the branch of law that deals with the rights and duties of private
individuals and the relationship between them. Private law deals with the rights and
obligations of individuals, families, businesses and small groups and exists to assist
citizens in disputes involving private matters. Private law: this is the branch of law that
regulates the relationship of individuals amongst themselves, under this , generally, the
state has no direct interest except for few occasion like marriages.
Further classification of private law is as follows
 Law of the person
 Property law
 Law of liability conflict of laws
The law of liability is divided into 3 classes: –
 The contracts
 Quasi-contract
 Torts
Difference between Public and Private Law

S/N PUBLIC LAW PRIVATE LAW

1. Public law deals with issues that affect the Private law deals with the rights and
general public or the state – society as a obligations of individuals, families,
whole. businesses and small groups and
exists to assist citizens in disputes
involving private matters.

2. Public law includes inter-relationships Private law includes participation among

between the state and the general private citizens.
population.

3. Public law consists of three subdivisions: Private law consists of the law of
Constitutional, administrative and criminal obligations and the law of torts.
law.

4. Public law deals with a larger scope. Private law operates with a more
S/N PUBLIC LAW PRIVATE LAW

specific scope.

5. Public law focuses more on the issues that Private deals more with the issues
affect the general public or the state itself. affecting private individuals, or
corporations.
Classification of law: – Public law and Private law

3. Substantive Law and Procedural Law

Substantive Law
Meaning of Substantive Law
Substantive law is the law which governs the original rights and obligations of
individuals. It is the classification of law that provides all the rights, duties and
obligations of the parties, by providing for a system of courts whether criminal or civil for
purposes of determining rights of the parties. Examples of substantive law include
criminal law, contract law, family law etc.

It could be opined that it deals with the substance of the daily legitimate norms and
customs or practices within our society. Substantive law may be derived from common
law, statutes, or the constitution. For example, a claim to recover for breach of contract
or negligence or fraud would be a common law substantive right. This law refers to the
body of rules that determine the rights and obligations of individuals and collective
bodies.

Procedural Law
Meaning of Procedural Law
This is a branch of law that deals with the procedures to enforce rights under
substantive law, where to go to enforce the rights and also what procedures that should
be followed for the purpose of enforcing that right. It is generally is also a branch of law
that deals with; the institutions that have mandate to deal with violations of rights and
duties under substantive law and; the procedures to follow to enforce that right. An
example of this is the civil procedure Code cap.33.

Procedural therefore law establishes the legal rules by which substantive law is created,
enforced and applied, especially in a court of law. Procedural law refers to the different
processes through which a case proceeds. Procedural laws define the rules with which
substantive laws may be enforced.

Difference between Substantive and Procedural Law

S.N Substantive Law Procedural Law

1. It establishes the rights, obligations and It follows the means and methods
duties of other persons or persons with through which adequate legislation is
the state. enforced.

2. It has independent powers to decide the It has no independent authority to

fate of each case. decide the fate of each case.

3. This law cannot be applied in non-legal This law can be applied in both legal
contexts. and non-legal contexts.

4. It does not specifically deal with It deals with the various processes and
proceedings inside a court. steps happening inside the court.

5. These laws are regulated by Acts of These laws are regulated by statutory
Parliament or government laws.
implementation.
Pr

4. common law and Equity

Common law

This is a legal system that originated from England which was a result of judges
decisions basing on customs. Once upon time in England various customs were used
in various places to decide cases on various matters for example family matters etc.
For purposes of standardization and unification, the King formed a panel of judges to
travel all over the country and decide cases in various places using the customs of that
particular area. At the end of the day good customs were collected and formed a body
of law with general application all over England not withstanding where specific customs
originated hence the name common law. In deciding cases, common law uses the
adversarial system in which case law or precedents form an important part of the justice
dispensing system. This in entirety is not a specific law but a comprehensive system
dealing with specific legal systems that are found in different countries.

SOURCES OF LAW IN TANZANIA

Familiarity with the main branches of the law may assist in the preliminary analysis of a
legal problem, but if a more thorough evaluation is to be undertaken, precise and
detailed rules will have to be identified by tracing them to their source. For example, if
the seller of goods fails to deliver what has been ordered, the buyer might recognize
that his entitlement, if any, to a remedy will be found in the law of contract. However, in
order to pursue his complaint against the seller, the buyer will have to locate the precise
rules relevant to his cause. If the dispute were taking place in England, the buyer would
be well advised to refer to the Sale of Goods Act 1979. The principal sources of law
therefore mean the body of laws or rules to which the Judge will have recourse to when
deciding cases or arbitrating on disputes. The term sources of Law, is also used in legal
science as a source for discovery of law in legislation, edicts, literary relics and
archeological materials permitting study of the nature and content of law in different
historical epochs. Generally, below are the sources of law in Tanzania;

1. The Constitution
This is the grand law of the land from which all other law emanate (originate). It’s the
most basic law as applied by the courts. It defines and establishes the principal organs
of the government in the sense that it’s the source of all governmental authority. The
constitution prescribes the manner in which and the limits within which their functions
are to be exercised, and it determines their inter-relationship. Any statute (law) is
therefore void if it happens to be in conflict with the constitution. The constitution
however provides a method of its own amendment. It can’t be infringed or violated by
either legislative or executive action. In the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803)1 Crach
137 it was stated that;

“Certainly, all those who have framed written constitutions contemplate them as
forming the fundamental and paramount law of the nation and consequently the
theory of every such government must be that an act of legislature repugnant to
the constitution is void.”

2. Statutes (Legislation)
The term ‘legislation’ refers to that body of law formally enacted by the institution of
state which, under the constitution, has law-making responsibility. Basically, statutes or
rather legislation is law enacted by parliament In the Tanzania. The Parliament in
Dodoma enacts legislation in the form of Statutes (Acts of Parliament). Examples of
these legislations include; the Law of Contract Act cap 345, The Sale of Goods Act, the
partnership Act, The Companies Act etc.

3. Case law (judicial precedent)

In addition to legislation, law can derive from judgments given by courts when deciding
cases brought before them. As a source of law, this is known as precedent. As has
already been explained, a defining characteristic of common law systems is the role that
the courts have played in creating law in this way. This is not to say that in civil law
jurisdictions the courts do not fulfill an important function, but any role they perform in
establishing legal principles for application in future cases differs, in theory at least, from
that of their common law counterparts. The common law doctrine of judicial precedent
basically embodies the principle that, in deciding a case, a judge will be bound by the
previous decision of a higher court. This idea needs further explanation.

4. Academic writing and commentaries

In many civil law jurisdictions, academics have had a significant influence on the
interpretation and development of the law. While not representing a formal source of law
in the same sense as legislation, for example, the opinions of leading academics and
commentators are, nevertheless, given substantial weight by the legal profession and
judiciary alike. Both in France and Germany, the works of highly reputable university
professors have great persuasive authority and are regularly quoted by lawyers when
presenting cases and, indeed, referred to by judges in court decisions. In England, on
the other hand, it is comparatively rare for a lawyer to cite the opinions of even leading
academics when presenting a case before a court. At one time, an author would have
had to be dead before any credence was given to his work. Over the years, judicial
attitudes have gradually changed to the point now where the views of modern.

5. Treaties
Treaties are more or less of agreements entered into by the government with some
other foreign powers. The question is, are provisions of a treaty important and
enforceable by the courts? Not all courts can, but they do not account for the value of
law comparable to statutes for example. In East Africa courts have never decided cases
dealing with treaties.

6. Customs (customary Law)

These are mainly native norms and customs of the different Tribes in Tanzania. Before
the coming of the European legal system Tanzania customs of individual tribes were
heavily relied upon in the adjudication of cases. In modern times customary laws are
mainly the jurisdiction of the primary court which is located in each district of Tanzania
and the Primary Court Magistrates adjudicate upon cases with the advice of a council of
elders who are well versed with the knowledge of the native customs. For example,
among the Kuria it’s agreed that when one rears a cow for someone, the second calf
produced by the cow belongs to the one rearing the cow.

7. Received Laws:
Previously Tanzania was a British colony which formed part of a broad spectrum of a
community of Nations otherwise known as the Common Wealth of Nations. British
dominion over these colonies came at different points in time and Nations that later
came under its reign would apply laws that had been previously used elsewhere. The
most recognizable is the use of Indian Statues within the Tanzanian Jurisdiction which
has even continued even after independence. An Example is the Indian Law of
Evidence of 1872.

8. Common law, Doctrines of Equity and Statutes of General Application:

Over the Ages English norms and traditions have evolved into a significant number of
Laws as applied in England. Principles like strict Liability form part of evolved common
law rules. However, with time the courts that administered these rules became inept
which gave rise to the doctrines of Equity which are basically about fairness as
determined by the chancery courts as supervised by the king. And with the Judicature
Act of 1873, statutes of general application and the above-named sources became
merged into one legal system which affects even colonial dominions. In modern times
these are use only where there is a lacuna in the Tanzanian Laws.