• Digests & Encyclopedias
• Sources for UK Caselaw
• Sources for Legislation
• Electronic Resources

INTRODUCTION

Canadian common law is rooted in English law, as evidenced by the ultimate appeal from the Supreme Court of Canada to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England which existed prior to 1949, and by the formal reception of English law by each province entering Confederation. Many of the landmark cases still cited by Canadian courts today are English cases.

Today, English law is not binding, but it is still persuasive in Canadian courts, particularly in the absence of any Canadian primary legal sources. It is no longer solely dominant, however, as American authorities are often viewed as being equally and sometimes more persuasive depending on the particular area of law. Nevertheless, given the dominance of English law on the Canadian legal landscape historically, students and researchers should be familiar with both older and current English statute and case law sources.

DIGESTS AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Halsbury's Laws of England (4th ed.)

(See also the note to Halsbury's Laws of England (3d ed.))

Halsbury's Laws of England is a comprehensive encyclopedia covering English law. Arranged alphabetically by broad topic in several dozen main volumes, it provides an authoritative statement of the law by experts. Some large topics may occupy a whole volume, while several smaller topics may be fitted into a single volume. Note that there is a separate index to each topic at the back of each volume.

Halsbury's Laws updates in 3 ways:

• Periodically, by the reissue of specific volumes for which continued updating by the publisher has become unwieldy.
• Annually, by the publication of the Cumulative Supplement (2 vols.)
• Monthly, by the publication of the Current Service (2 binders) (not available in the Lederman Law Library).

Call number: English Legislative Materials

Halsbury's  Laws of England (3d ed.)

3d Edition (1952 - 1964); Supplement (1976)

Note: The 3d edition remains a useful reference work for Canadian legal research. The 3d edition tends to summarize the English common law position, which still may be relevant in Canada. It is worth noting that Canadian Converter volumes continue to be published for the 3d Edition. The 4th edition is not as relevant to Canadian research. The 4th edition summarizes current U.K. law and reflects major legislative changes which may not necessarily serve to illuminate Canadian law.

Call number: English Legislative Materials

The Digest: Annotated British, Commonwealth, and European Cases

The Digest provides, in digested form, the whole case law of England and Wales, together with a considerable body of cases from the courts of Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries of the Commonwealth. Cases dealing with the law of the European Communities are also included. The case digests are printed with annotations listing the subsequent cases in which judicial opinions have been expressed in the English courts. The Digest contains summaries of hundreds of thousands of cases drawn from over a thousand different series of law reports.

Call number: English Legislative Materials

Current Law

Current Law Yearbook

(1952- )

This supersedes the monthly issues of Current Law Monthly Digest and covers the whole law from January 1 to December 31 of that year. A new format to the Index was introduced in 1991. The text of the Current Law Year Book is divided into four sections, covering respectively the UK, England and Wales, the European Communities, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

Call number: English Legislative Materials

Stroud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases (7th ed) (2006)

This includes definitions from English, Scottish and Commonwealth sources. Judicial interpretations of words and phrases used in statutes which have been repealed or amended have been retained. Stroud's is very selective in its references to statutory definitions.   This dictionary is in the Law Library's Reference Section.

Call number: KD313 .G74 2006 Reference

Words and Phrases Legally Defined (3d)

4 Volumes (1988 - 1990) & Supplement (1994)

(useful companion to Halsbury's Laws of England)

References to Halsbury's Laws of England have been amended to refer to the fourth edition of that work. The scope of this edition has been broadened to include selected extracts from the materials of leading American states. A number of extracts from The Dictionary of Legal Words and Phrases have also been added.

Call number: KD313 .W92 1998

Law Reports

Note: See the Law Reports chapter for an introduction to United Kingdom law reports.

SOURCES FOR LOCATING CASELAW

The All England Law Reports - Annotated (1558 - )

Consolidated Tables and Index
1936 -

• cases reported and considered
• practice directions and notes
• statutes considered
• words and phrases considered

Sources for Cases Judicially Considered

Found in:

• Law Reports Index
• All ER Index
• Current Law Case Citator

SOURCES FOR LEGISLATION

Sources for Old English Statutes:

Statutes of the Realm (1225-1713)

In Print: Shelved with the English Law Reports

Online: HeinOnline

Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum (1642-1660)

In Print: Shelved with English Legislative Material

Online: British History Online

Statutes at Large (Two sets of volumes cover the period from the Magna Carta to 1869)

In Print: Shelved with English Legislative Material

Sources for Modern English Statutes

Law Reports - Statutes
29 & 30 Vict., 1866 to Eliz. 2, 1957

Public General Acts and Measures Annual
6 & 7 Eliz. 2, 1958 -

Companion Sources of English Statutes

Chronological Table of Statutes
1235-1996

Index to the Statutes In Force
1235-1990

Halsbury's Laws of England (4th ed.)

Consolidated Table of Statutes, Statutory Instruments and Table of European Community Materials
Volume 53

Consolidated Table of Statutes
Volume 43

Halsbury's Statutes of England (4th Edition), 1985

Updated by reissue volumes, 1985 -

 

Purpose:
To provide the user with an up-to-date version of the amended text of every Public General Act or Ecclesiastical Measure in force in England and Wales, with detailed annotations to each section and Schedule.

The current (fourth) edition comprises several dozen substantive volumes (divided into 146 subject titles), together with an annual Cumulative Supplement, Current Statutes Service binders, Noter-up binder, an annual Tables of Statutes and General Index volume, and an annual volume entitled Is it in Force?

Current Statutes Service

Contains legislation which post-dates the volumes. When a volume is reissued, the material that is contained in the binder for that title is incorporated into the reissue volume.

Is it in Force?
(Published annually)

Details the exact commencement dates of every provision of every Public General Act and Measure of the General Synod of the Church of England passed in the last twenty-five years. It is published annually and updated regularly in the Noter-Up binder.

Current Law Statutes Annotated

Main Set
1958-

Current Awareness

Looseleaf Binder

 

Statute Citators

Current Law Statute Citator

1 volume (1947-1971)

 

Current Law Legislation Citator

Companion to Current Law Yearbook

 

Annual with multiple year cumulation

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Law Reports Online

The English Reports are now freely available on CommonLII. The Law Library also has electronic subscriptions to the complete English Reports through either HeinOnline or Justis.

Law Reports Online

Current UK legislation is freely available from the UK's Office of Public Sector Information. Legislation is also freely available on BAILII.

LexisNexis Quicklaw

The following databases provide one of the most comprehensive collection of electronic resources pertaining to UK Law.

1. Go to "Source Directory"
2. Filter by Country: United Kingdom
3. The British legal resources are then subdivided by type of material: cases, legislation, etc.

Westlaw Canada

Westlaw provides extensive coverage of British law.

1. Click on "Directory" at the top of the screen.
2. At the bottom right, under "International Subscriptions," select "U.K. Law."
3. This will bring up a list of all British law databases.

Justis

Queen's subscription to Justis, a British legal database, contains the following:

English

• The Law Reports
• English Reports
• Times Law Reports
• Weekly Law Reports

Irish

• Irish Jurist Reports Digest
• Irish Reports Digest
• Irish Special Reports Digest
• Irish Law Journal Digest
• Irish Law Reports Monthly Digest
• Irish Law Times Reports Digest
• Northern Ireland Reports Digest
• Irish Reports

Scottish

• Session Cases