Primary vs Secondary resources of Law

What are sources of law?

Legal research is the process of obtaining law-related information. However, not all information is equal

the first step is usually to look at the relevant authority, be this case or statute, to find the baseline for our research

you must also look at other relevant sources when undertaking comprehensive legal research

Primary Sources of Law

primary sources are the laws themselves

these are the legally binding decisions of relevant authorities

they have the highest authority when researching law

they should form the crux of your argument in problem based scenarios

if more modern primary sources overrides a secondary source, the primary source must always take precedent in your legal research

what are primary sources

statute

case law

international treaties

regulations

what are not primary sources of law

government press releases

wikipedia pages of the law

secondaru sources

secondary sources of law are interpretations of the law that evaluate and analyse primary sources

they are often a good way to begin research as they will connect different primary sources in a logical manner

they also help influence the creation of further primary sources

secondary sources are mandatory for any essay based work

what are secondary sources of law

peer reviewed journal articles

textbooks

parliamentary debates

publication from governmental departments

NGO reports

what are not secondary sources of law

newspapers

onlince encyclopedias

lecture noted

eLawresources/law teacher

chatgpt