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.
Stillman Valley is a village in Marion Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. It lies east of Byron, south of Rockford, and west of Davis Junction. The population was 1,048 at the 2000 census. As of the 2005 estimate, Stillman Valley's population had risen to 1,097. The village is located on the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad, on the old Chicago Great Western Railway before it merged and was pulled up. Also, Illinois Route 72 runs through the village, and is near the location for the beginning of the Black Hawk War. The war memorial for the Battle of Stillman's Run is located in this village.