Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim. For instance, if a car crash victim claims damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, this will be a civil law case. Civil law courts provide a forum for deciding disputes involving torts (such as accidents, negligence, and libel), contract disputes, the probate of wills, trusts, property disputes, administrative law, commercial law, and any other private matters that involve private parties or organizations including government departments. The objectives of civil law are different from other types of law. In civil law there is the attempt to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or settle a dispute. If there is a victim, they get compensation, and the person who is the cause of the wrong pays, this being a civilized form of, or legal alternative to, revenge.
Greenup is a village in Cumberland County, Illinois, along the Embarras River. The population was 1,494 at the 2005 census. It is part of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area. Greenup received its name from National Road surveyor, William C. Greenup, who plotted the town in 1834. William C. Greenup was one of the supervisors hired to oversee construction of the National Road in Illinois, surveying the original alignment from Marshall to Vandalia during the 1830s. The town of Greenup served as the Cumberland County seat from 1843 to 1857.