From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcivil lawˌcivil ˈlaw noun [uncountable] SCLthe area of law relating to the affairs of private citizens rather than crime → criminal law
Examples from the Corpus
civil law• Many of these provisions would be quite unacceptable to a civil law country.• At age sixteen, he had received his doctorate in canon and civil law.• At civil law, in fact, he has no right in personam either.• The more formal civil law tradition requires international service to be initiated by specified officials.• The result looks odd: she is guilty in criminal law but not liable in civil law.• There is a basic distinction in the laws of this country between the criminal and the civil law.• The civil law position is less problematical.• The civil law, mainly through the torts of trespass and private nuisance, also had a role to play.From Longman Business Dictionarycivil lawˌcivil ˈlawLAW1[uncountable] the laws of a country dealing with the affairs of private citizens, rather than with crime and criminalsThe purpose of the civil law is to compensate; it is the function of the criminal law to punish.2[uncountable] (also Roman Law)LAW the law of ancient Rome, which is still used as the basis for the legal system in some countries, especially the countries of continental Europe or countries formerly governed by them. → law 