Printed Sources of the Law

Even in the age of the Internet students of law still need to be familiar with the printed sources of information that have been used by generations of lawyers. In fact, it is only by being familiar with printed sources that one can get a feeling for the 'structure' of the law, and see how legal materials are inter-related. This is a brief guide to some of the most important, and useful, sources of legal information within the Library.

The law collection is housed on the ground floor, A Floor Green Zone, and is comprised of five main types of material:

Journals
Textbooks
Reference Tools
Legislation
Law Reports

Official Publications will usually be found in the Parliamentary Papers collection on A floor, Blue Zone.

Journals

Law journals are arranged alphabetically by title, usually at classmark S6. They are listed on the Library Catalogue under their title, but their contents are not listed. Articles in legal journals can provide more detailed and up-to-date commentary on a topic than a textbook. You will need to use one of the specialist indexes to locate individual articles within journals:

The Legal Journals Index (S6) covers all legal journals published in the UK. Entry is by subject, author, case name and the name of an Act. It also contains a book review index. The printed version of Legal Journals Index runs from 1986 - 1992, from 1986 to date the index is available within the Westlaw UK database.

The Index to Legal Periodicals (S6) is the American equivalent to the Legal Journals Index and is used in a similar way.

Journals are usually referred to by their abbreviation. The general principle for citation is as follows:

Year	Volume	Abbreviation	Page
(1989)	39	B.J. Crim	347
[1989]		Crim. L. R.	855

The correct use of brackets in the citation of journals and law reports is essential. If the date is in round brackets, then it is not essential to know the date as the volume number is the more important part of the reference. If the date is in square brackets, then it is an essential part of the reference.

Textbooks

Books and pamphlets are each assigned an alpha/numeric subject code known as a classmark. The alphabetical code signifies the general subject area and the numerical code creates further subdivisions. The books are filed alphabetically and within that, by number. Law books are generally found at Class S.

References can best be traced by consulting the Library Catalogue

It is important that you check to see if the book you are reading is the latest edition available in the Library. Some areas of law develop very quickly and textbooks in those areas are often updated annually. The Law Librarian can check for you if you are not sure.

Reference Tools

Halsbury's Laws of England is a useful starting point if you know very little about the subject in hand. Arranged alphabetically by subject, it gives a comprehensive outline of each topic with the main legislation and cases. It is kept up-to-date by an annual Cumulative Supplement and a Current Service binder.

The Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (SL43) can help you to understand the meaning of the law report and journal abbreviations.

Halsbury's Statutes, Current Law Statutes, Current Law Legislation Citator (SE20) and Halsbury's Statutory Instruments (SE30) are useful for finding legislation.

Current Law Yearbook, Current Law Monthly Digest, Current Law Case Citator and The Digest (SE20) are useful for finding cases.

Legislation

There are two main types of legislation, Statutory and Subordinate.

Statutory Legislation

Usually referred to as either Statutes or Acts (the terms are interchangeable), the majority of Acts passed by Parliament are Public General Acts which apply to the whole country. In the earliest years, statutes were cited by the name of the place where Parliament met, e.g. Statute of Gloucester 1278. Subsequently, statutes were cited by reference to their regnal year and chapter. The regnal year refers to the number of years a monarch has been on the throne and the chapter number is a running number assigned to each Act in a Parliamentary session, e.g. 9 & 10 Eliz.2 c.39
This indicates that the Act was the thirty ninth to be passed in the Parliamentary session extending over the ninth and tenth years of the reign of Elizabeth II.

The system changed in 1962 so that now reference is made to the calendar year rather than the regnal year, e.g. 1969 c.42

In practice, Acts are usually referred to by their short title, e.g.
Criminal Justice Act 1961
Family Law Reform Act 1969

Local and Personal Acts only apply to particular localities or persons. Their citation is similar to that for Public General Acts but their chapter number is given in Roman numerals: 7 & 8 Eliz.2 c.xxv (North Devon Water Act 1959) 1972 c.xli (Liverpool Corporation Act 1972).

The library has three sets of Statutes, all shelved at classmark SE20. The first is the official series of Public General Acts (published by HMSO) and these are arranged by year and chapter number. Earlier statutes (pre 1866) come under the title of Statutes at Large.

The second is a commercial series, Current Law Statutes and these are also arranged by year and chapter number but in addition, there are annotations explaining each section, together with a lot of useful background to some of the more important statutes.

The third, another commercial series, is Halsbury's Statutes and this is arranged by subject. Each volume is constantly updated to take account of any amendments by means of an annual cumulative supplement and therefore contains the text of legislation as it currently stands.

Finding Statutes on a Subject

Index to Halsbury's Statutes (SE20): This includes an alphabetical and chronological list of statutes as well as a subject index. Each main volume has its own subject index and volume A of the Current Statutes Service contains a cumulative subject index for Acts in the Service.
Index to the Statutes (SE20): This is published by HMSO every two years and lists every statute enacted since 1235 by broad subject headings. A chronological table by calendar year (with regnal year in brackets) is included to aid tracing the official citations.

Tracing the Latest Version of a Statute
Having found a relevant statute it is then necessary to ascertain whether it has been amended or repealed by later legislation. To do this use:

Halsbury's Statutes (SE20)
Look up the Act in either the main volume or the relevant Current Statutes Service binder. All changes made before the date of publication are noted in the annotations. Check the Cumulative Supplement and the Noter-up for any recent changes.

Current Law Legislation Citator (SE20)
This lists statutes chronologically, noting amendments and repeals. It is updated by the relevant section in the Service File.

Chronological Table of the Statutes (SE20)
This is published by HMSO every 2-3 years and lists every statute chronologically, noting repeals and amendments. It includes every statute since 1235 and is therefore a more complete work than either of the above.

COMMENCEMENT DATES
Statutes may not come into force immediately they receive Royal Assent. The last section of an Act will either state when it is to come into force or give authority for a date to be appointed by a Statutory Instrument. Different sections of a statute may come into force at different times. To find out whether a date has been appointed use:

Is it in Force? (SE20)
Published annually it lists Acts alphabetically within the year and gives details of commencement dates for each Act or part of an Act. It covers statutes passed since 1961 and is updated by the Noter-up binder of Halsbury's Statutes.

Current Law Statutes (SE20)
The Service File contains a table of legislation not yet in force. This should be updated by Current Law Monthly Digest.

Current Law Monthly Digest (SE20)
A Cumulative list of appointed days made in the current year appears before the case citator in each issue.

CASES ON STATUTES
To discover whether a statute or a section of a statute has been judicially considered use:

Halsbury's Statutes (SE20)
Cases are noted in the annotations. Later cases are noted in the Cumulative Supplement and the Noter-up.

Current Law Legislation Citator (SE20)
This notes cases on individual sections of Acts.

Law Report Indexes (SE69)
Most report series include tables of statutes that have been judicially considered.

DELEGATED LEGISLATION
This is the term used for the large body of rules, orders, regulations and bye-laws created by subordinate bodies under specific powers delegated to those bodies by Parliament. Currently known as Statutory Instruments, they are cited either by title and year, or by year and running number, e.g.

Probation (Compensation) (Amendment) Regulations 1971
S.I. 1971 No. 1120 or S.I. 1971/1120

The official series published by HMSO is shelved by year and number at SE30. The commercial series, Halsbury's Statutory Instruments, is arranged by subject but many of the S.I.'s are only printed in a very abbreviated form or are just noted. Note: The Library's subscription to this has ceased, so it will gradually become less useful.

TRACING STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
If a statute contains a power for Statutory Instruments to be made under the Act, then to find out if any have been made use:

Halsbury's Statutes (SE20)
S.I.'s made under a section are noted in the annotations in the main volumes and also in the Cumulative Supplement and the Noter-up.

Current Law Legislation Citator (SE20)
This notes which S.I.'s have been made under a particular section. It gives only the year and number of the Statutory Instrument.

Index to Government Orders (SE30)
Published by HMSO every two years, this is a subject index which lists enabling statutes under each subject heading, together with details of the S.I.'s that have been issued. There is a chronological table of enabling statutes in the front of the work which shows the heading under which they are indexed.

FINDING STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS ON A SUBJECT
It is also possible to locate S.I.'s issued on a particular subject, rather than under a particular statute. To do this use:

Halsbury's Statutory Instruments (SE30)
A subject index to the whole work is reissued annually and updated by an index at the end of the Monthly Survey in the Service binder. Note: the Library's subscription to this service has ceased, so it will gradually become less useful.

List of Statutory Instruments (SE30)
Produced monthly with an annual cumulation, this gives full details of each S.I. under broad subject headings. A detailed alphabetical index is available as well.

Current Law Monthly Digest and Current Law Yearbook (SE20)
Each Yearbook can be used as a subject guide to the S.I.'s issued in that year. There is an alphabetical table of S.I.'s in the front of each volume arranged under subject headings. Each Monthly Digest notes all S.I.'s under the relevant subject heading.

TRACING THE LATEST VERSION OF A STATUTORY INSTRUMENT
In order to discover whether an S.I. has been amended or repealed use:

Halsbury's Statutory Instruments (SE30)
The Annual Supplement and Monthly Survey in the Service binder note all amendments and repeals made by later S.I.'s to those included in the main work. Note: the Library's subscription to this service has ceased, so it will gradually become less useful.

Table of Government Orders (SE30)
Published every two years, it lists every S.I. chronologically and records any amendments and repeals.

Current Law Legislation Citator (SE20)
Published annually, it contains a table of Statutory Instruments affected. It lists all amendments and repeals to S.I.'s made since 1972. Only the year and number of the S.I. are given.

Current Law Monthly Digest and Current Law Yearbook (SE20)
Each Monthly Digest notes all amendments and repeals to S.I.'s under the relevant subject headings. Each Yearbook contains a list of S.I.'s which have been amended by S.I.'s made during the year.

Halsbury's Statutes (SE20)
S.I.'s made under a section and their later amendments and repeals are noted in the main volumes. Later changes are noted in the Cumulative Supplement and the Noter-up binder.

CASES ON STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
In order to ascertain whether an S.I. has been judicially considered use:

Law Reports Indexes (SE69)
Most report series include tables of S.I.'s that have been judicially considered.

Current Law Monthly Digest (SE20)
This notes cases on S.I.'s under the relevant subject heading. The Yearbook cumulates this information.

Law Reports

All law reports are shelved alphabetically by title within their jurisdiction; English reports are at SE69, Scottish at SE169, United States at SF369, European at SV6.9 etc. The general principle employed in law report references is similar to that of the journals, i.e.

Year	Volume	Abbreviation	Page
[1989]	3	All E.R.	701
(1887)	18	Q.B.	486

The Law Reports form the record of leading cases heard in the superior courts, i.e. the High court and above. The development of the English system of law reporting has had three stages:

THE YEAR BOOKS
These were first compiled in the reign of Edward I. Although their purpose is not altogether clear they were probably notes taken by junior advocates and students as guidance for pleading and procedure. They were not official reports but were used on occasion as precedents by the judges, e.g.

Kembeare v Kembeare Y.B. 4 Ed.2 153

This case is reported in Volume 4 of the Year Books for the reign of Edward II at page 153, the 4 in the citation referring to the fourth year of Edward II's reign, i.e. 1310. The library has some of the Year Books and they are shelved with the Law Reports at SE69.

THE PRIVATE REPORTS
These replaced the Year Books in about 1535 and continued until 1865. They were reports published under the name of the law reporter and soon developed into a detailed account of counsel's arguments and the judgment. These reports are cited by the name of the reporter usually abbreviated) and a volume and page number preceded by the year in round brackets, e.g.

Ashford v Thornton (1818) 1 B. & Ald. 405

This report can be found in Volume 1 of Barnewall and Alderson's Reports at page 405. The library has some these individual reports (usually referred to as nominate reports), but they are available collectively in a separate series known as the English Reports. Look up the name of the case in the index to the English Reports to find the relevant volume number and page reference. The English Reports are also available on CD-ROM.

THE MODERN SYSTEM OF LAW REPORTING
This largely replaced the private reports in 1865 when a Council was created to publish reports of decisions in the superior courts; these are referred to as the Law Reports. In 1870 the council was incorporated as the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. Between 1865 and 1875 a case was cited by reference to the court in which it was decided and a serial number dating from 1865 prefixed by the letters L.R., e.g.

Irving v Askew (1870) L.R. 5 Q.B. 208

This means that the case can be found in the fifth volume of reports of cases in the Court of Queen's Bench at page 208.

Between 1875 and 1890 citation was by an abbreviation of the appropriate division of the High Court, the serial number dating from 1875. The prefix L.R. was dropped, e.g.

Bradlaugh v Gossett (1884) 12 Q.B.D. 271

The report of the case is in the twelfth volume of the reports of cases in the Queen's Bench Division at page 271.

In 1891 the date became for the first time a part of the reference in place of a serial number and the letter D for Division was dropped, e.g.

Bowles v Bank of England [1913] 1 Ch. 57

This case is reported in Volume 1 of the reports of cases heard in 1913 in the Chancery Division at page 57.

There are currently three separate volumes of reports for each division of the High Court (Q.B., Ch., Fam.) and a separate volume for House of Lords and Privy Council cases (A.C.). They are shelved alphabetically by name of division within the general heading of the Law Reports.

OTHER REPORTS
A case which is reported in the Law Reports should be cited by its Law Report reference in preference to any other. There are, however, certain other reports of which two of the most highly regarded are the All England Reports and The Weekly Law Reports. Periodicals such as the New Law Journal and Criminal Law Review include notes of cases and among newspapers the reports in The Times are commonly cited.

FINDING CASES ON A SUBJECT
There are various digest and indexes available for finding cases on a particular subject:

The Digest (SE20)
This includes almost every English case as well as some Scottish, Irish and Commonwealth cases. It is arranged alphabetically by broad subject areas, each of which is broken down into more specific headings. Under each heading is given summaries of the relevant cases and their references. A Consolidated Index is available and references are to volume number, title and case number. Continuation Volumes update the Digest from 1971 onwards. These add new cases under each subject heading. An annual Cumulative Supplement adds more recent cases and also amends the main volumes. The Consolidated Table of Cases or the Cumulative Supplement Table of Cases allow you to find further cases on the same subject if you have a reference to a particular case already.

Law Reports Indexes (SE69)
These are produced for nearly every series of law reports and contain subject indexes to the cases reported in that series, as well as other tables. Some series produce cumulative indexes which are especially useful:

The Law Reports Index 1951- (SE69)
Published decennially with a cumulative annual index, further updated by a periodic index. The index covers all main English report series and some specialist ones.

All England Law Reports Consolidated Index (SE69)
This is updated by Current Cumulative Tables and Index which is issued periodically with an annual cumulation.

Current Law Monthly Digest (SE20)
More useful for recent case references. It digests all new English and Scottish cases (plus new legislation and articles) by subject. Each issue contains a cumulative subject index for the year. The issues are cumulated into a Yearbook and the indexes are also cumulative.

TRACING THE STATUS OF A CASE
Each case entry in The Digest notes the status of a case and whether it has been reversed, distinguished, considered or applied in later cases. The annual Cumulative Supplement gives all later cases in which the initial case was considered.

For each case reported, the Current Law Case Citator gives details of later cases in which the initial case was considered. References are to the year and paragraph number of a Yearbook. The Citator is updated by a cumulative case citator in the latest issue of the Monthly Law Digest.

Law Reports Indexes usually contain tables of cases judicially considered.

FINDING REFERENCES
If you know only the name of a case and need to know where it has been reported, or if you need an alternative citation because for some reason the library does not hold the series you require, use:
Tables of cases in textbooks on the subject
Tables of cases in Law Reports Indexes (SE69)
The Digest (SE20) (the Consolidated Table of Cases or the table of cases in the Cumulative Supplement)
Current Law Case Citator (SE20)
Westlaw UK
Lexis-Nexis

VIDEOS

Ask at the Enquiry Desk for these:

How to use current law. 1 videocassette. (VHS) (10min.) SE20
Using Halsbury's laws of England. 1 videocassette (VHS) (15 min.) SE20
A guide to legal materials. 2 videocassettes (VHS) (40 min.) S80