Criminal law is the law of crimes and their punishments. Civil law is the law of civil or private rights. Criminal law cases are only conducted through the criminal court system. While some matters of civil law are handled outside of the court of law through a third-party mediator. Also, lawsuits are settled through a non-criminal trial. In Criminal cases, a judge sentences a defendant as per current criminal law. Legal penalties may or may not be included however in civil cases the jury orders to pay for the damages to the plaintiff if the defendant is found guilty. The jury may or may not award additional punitive damages.