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.
De Tour Village is a village in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 421 at the 2000 census. The village is at the extreme eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in Detour Township, at the turning point for the shipping channel connecting the St. Mary's River with Lake Huron and the Straits of Mackinac. Drummond Island, one of the largest islands in the St. Mary's River, is only one mile across the river from De Tour. The De Tour Reef Light is nearby. The village was originally named Warrenville in 1848 after Ebenezer Warren, the first postmaster in the township. The name was changed to De Tour on July 25, 1856, when a new postmaster, Henry A. Williams, assumed office. De Tour was incorporated as De Tour Village in 1961 (the word "Village" is a part of the village's name). M-134 runs through the village, connecting with I-75 43 miles to the west and with M-129 25 miles to the west, which runs north 37 miles to Sault Ste. Marie. M-134 also continues east to Drummond Island via the Drummond Island Ferry.