Contract disagreement
A failure to pay or perform a contract may be a civil dispute. It does not automatically establish fraud or another offence.
Plain language · Scotland
LJBD / GUIDE / 001 · Checked 1 August 2026
Civil dispute.
Criminal conduct.
Where is the line?
A civil dispute does not create a law-free zone. Equally, not every breach, argument or civil wrong is a crime. The line is found by identifying the particular act, the law that applies, the available evidence and the decision each institution is actually responsible for.
HighConfidence in the general distinction
The civil and criminal systems have different purposes, parties, procedures and outcomes.
NoneCase conclusion from this page
No page can classify an individual event without the facts, applicable law, evidence and procedural context.
The central point
“Civil” can describe the relationship or remedy. It cannot erase a separately alleged criminal act.
A landlord and tenant may be in a civil tenancy dispute. A buyer and seller may be in a contract dispute. Neighbours may dispute a boundary. None of those labels answers whether a specific assault, threat, damage, unlawful eviction or other alleged act also discloses a possible offence.
Side by side
Different questions, sometimes the same facts.
PointCivilCriminal
Main question
What private right, duty or remedy is in dispute?
Do the reported facts and available evidence disclose an offence that should be investigated or prosecuted?
Who normally brings it
A person, organisation or public body brings a claim or application.
Police Scotland and other authorised reporting agencies may investigate. COPFS independently decides what prosecutorial action, if any, should be taken under the Prosecution Code.
Standard of proof
Generally the balance of probabilities: is the fact more likely than not?
The prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Typical outcome
Payment, an order, a declaration, enforcement of a right or another civil remedy.
Acquittal or conviction, followed where applicable by a sentence or other disposal.
Where it may be heard
Sheriff court, Court of Session or a specialist tribunal, depending on subject and value.
Justice of the peace court, sheriff court or High Court, depending on the offence and procedure.
The overlap
The same act may support a claim for loss, damage or another remedy.
The same act may also be reported and assessed as an alleged offence.
Boundary examples
The relationship does not decide the act.
These examples show the distinction. They are not findings about any individual case.
Housing dispute
Rent, repairs and access may create civil or tribunal issues. Alleged unlawful eviction, harassment, threats, assault or deliberate damage may raise separate criminal questions.
Property disagreement
Ownership and possession can be civil questions. Violence, threats or damage do not become civil merely because the parties also dispute property.
False information
An inaccurate statement can be relevant in civil proceedings without automatically being criminal. The exact words, knowledge, purpose, legal duty and evidence matter.
Assault or killing
A civil relationship or existing lawsuit creates no immunity from the criminal law. Alleged assault or killing remains a criminal matter to assess on its facts and evidence.
Parallel processes
A civil claim, tribunal case, police report, prosecution decision and service complaint can exist at the same time, with different questions and deadlines.
What “civil matter” might mean
One phrase can hide several different decisions.
- No alleged offence was identified from the facts reported.
- The report lacked enough detail to assess whether an offence was disclosed.
- An offence may have been alleged, but there was said to be insufficient evidence.
- An incident may have been recorded, but no further investigation was planned.
- The speaker may have been referring only to the remedy the caller appeared to want.
- The phrase may have been shorthand, poorly explained or mistaken.
These are hypotheses, not conclusions. The record should show which one applies, who decided it and why.
Questions to ask
Find the line in the decision record.
- 01
Which act was reported, without calling the whole relationship civil or criminal?
- 02
Which possible offences were considered and which elements were said to be absent?
- 03
Did the response mean no crime was disclosed, no present evidence supported it, or no further investigation was planned?
- 04
Who made the classification, in what role, and where is the reason recorded?
- 05
Was the crime-recording decision separate from the decision about further investigation?
- 06
What evidence was offered, obtained, declined or left outstanding?
- 07
What civil route was identified, and does it address the same act or only the surrounding dispute?
- 08
Can a supervisor review the classification without treating the request as an allegation of misconduct?
Primary sources
Check the current official page.
mygov.scotWhen you are a witness: civil and criminal caseshttps://www.mygov.scot/being-a-witness/when-youre-a-witness↗Judiciary of ScotlandSheriffs and the civil and criminal work of sheriff courtshttps://judiciary.scot/home/judiciary/judicial-office-holders/sheriffs/sheriffs-1↗COPFSProsecution Code, updated 22 June 2026https://www.copfs.gov.uk/publications/prosecution-code/html/↗Police ScotlandHow to report a crimehttps://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/how-to-report-a-crime/↗Police ScotlandComplaints about action, lack of action or servicehttps://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/how-we-do-it/complaints/↗Scottish GovernmentPrivate residential tenancy notes: unlawful evictionhttps://www.gov.scot/publications/private-residential-tenancy-statutory-terms-supporting-notes-2/pages/4/↗SCTSSimple Procedure rules, forms and guidancehttps://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/simple-procedure/↗Housing and Property ChamberApply to the tribunalhttps://housingandpropertychamber.scot/apply-tribunal↗
The practical test
Name the act. Name the decision. Ask for the record.
Do not ask whether the whole relationship is civil or criminal. Ask what was alleged, which legal possibility was considered, what evidence was checked, what was decided and which separate civil or criminal route addresses that exact point.