It can be said that all laws that are not civil in nature can be said to be criminal laws. However a more precise delineation would be that while in civil laws the acts prescribe the rights rules and regulations but under criminal law the intent is to punish.

Criminal laws unlike civil laws are not concerned with the grant, infringement or protection of rights, but with their punishment by the state. A person can face criminal proceedings for committing criminal acts against the rights of an individual or against the state itself. In fact an injury or criminal act such as cheating against an individual is considered to be an act against the state. It is for precisely this reason that even though a crime or criminal act may have been committed touching individuals or a group, but it is the state that is reposed with the responsibility of prosecuting an accused through its police and prosecuting agencies. It may be stated that not all civil violations are actionable under criminal law.