Civil wrong

A civil wrong or wrong is a cause of action under the law of the governing body. Tort,breach of contract and breach of trust are types of civil wrong. Something that amounts to a civil wrong is said to be wrongful. A wrong involves the violation of a right because wrong and right are complementary terms. A statement that an act complained of is legally wrongful as regards the party complaining implicitly includes a statement that the act complained of prejudicially affects the party complaining in some legal right.

The law that relates to civil wrongs is part of the branch of the law that is called the civil law. A civil wrong is capable of being followed by what are called civil proceedings. It is a misnomer to describe a civil wrong as a "civil offence". The law of England recognised the concept of a "wrong" before it recognised the distinction between civil wrongs and crimes (which distinction was developed during the thirteenth century).

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