Introduction

  • Previous chapter covered role of case law as a source of law.

  • This chapter will develop skills for finding cases:
      - Explain meanings of case citations
      - Discuss online legal research platforms for domestic cases
      - Find decisions from European Court of Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union, and General Court

  • Importance of locating case law:
      - Equally important as finding legislation
      - Necessary for analyzing law areas and constructing legal arguments based on outcomes of prior cases.

Learning Outcomes

  • After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
      - Understand the meaning of case citations
      - Explain use of the neutral citation system
      - Distinguish between reported and unreported cases
      - Find domestic and European cases

6.1 Law Reporting

  • If not present in court during judgment, must rely on case report to know what happened.

  • Accurate law reporting is critical.

  • Citations serve as signposts for locating and referencing reports.

6.1.1 Making Sense of Case Citations

  • Case citations: abbreviation for referencing particular reports of a case.

  • Focus on main citations for cases in England and Wales.

  • Example: R v Copeland citation is [2020] UKSC 8, [2020] 2 WLR 681.
      - Indicates where the case can be found.
      - Contains a neutral citation and a law report citation.

6.1.1.1 Neutral Citations

  • Introduced in 2001 for Court of Appeal, Administrative Court, extended to High Court divisions in 2002.

  • Purpose: ease in publishing and accessing judgments online.

  • Citation structure includes:
      - Year of judgment in square brackets.
      - Court abbreviation preceded by 'UK' or 'EW'.
      - Unique serial number for approved judgments.

  • Common court abbreviations and number placement:
      - Supreme Court: [20xx] UKSC #
      - House of Lords: [20xx] UKHL #
      - Privy Council: [20xx] UKPC #
      - Court of Appeal (Criminal): [20xx] EWCA Crim #
      - High Court (Chancery): [20xx] EWHC # (Ch D)
      - Additional variations for specific lists within High Court.

6.1.1.2 Law Report Citations

  • Judgments published in law report series; authoritative source by the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting.

  • Citations structured with:
      - Year (normally refers to when case reported, may differ from judgment year).
      - Example: R (Lancashire CC) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2019] UKSC 58, [2020] 2 WLR 1.

  • Formatting years:
      - Pre-1890 cases omit year from citation (shown in round brackets for reference).
      - Post-1890 must include year in citation, formatted differently based on report series.

  • Example: R v Dudley and Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273 (regarding the necessity defense in murder).

  • Citation specifics:
      - Volume number used only when necessary.

6.1.1.3 Which Citation?

  • Practice Direction: Citation of Authorities clarifies citation practice across Senior Courts.

  • Citation outlined hierarchy:
      - Official reports (AC, QB, Ch, Fam) mandatory.
      - If reported in WLR or All ER, use either.
      - If only in specialist reports, can be cited.
      - For unreported, use official transcript from BAILII with caution.

6.1.2 Reported and Unreported Cases

  • Small proportion of cases reported each year; numerous unreported cases exist.

  • Increasing availability of unreported cases online since 1996.

6.1.3 Case Summaries

  • Sources for case summaries and commentaries available:
      - Criminal Law Review,
      - Journal of Criminal Law, containing summaries of relevant cases.

  • Caution advised: summaries indicate law but should not replace review of full case transcripts.

6.2 Finding Domestic Case Law

  • Various online resources for case law (both free and subscription-based).

  • Subscription services offer additional features.

  • Familiarity with search tools is essential; institutions often provide training.

6.2.1 Where to Start?

  • Example case: Donoghue v Stevenson; search can be initiated with a Google search.

  • Initial results vary in completeness and authority.

  • Prefer recognized portals over general web searches for case retrieval.

6.2.2 How Online Legal Research Portals Work

  • Portals allow searches by:
      - Name, citation, keywords.

  • Keeping searches simple is effective; adjust based on name's commonality.

6.2.3 Westlaw Edge UK

  • Allows searching by party name, citation, free text, and keywords.

  • Full-text availability varies; often best used alongside other tools.

6.2.4 Lexis+ UK

  • Broad selection of legal reports; similar to Westlaw Edge UK in functionality.

6.2.5 Lawtel

  • Available via Westlaw Edge UK, updated daily with:
      - Summaries of cases, links to full texts, personal injury quantum reports, and practice directions.

6.2.6 vLex Justis

  • Full-text database covering historic UK, Irish, and EU case law.

6.2.7 BAILII

  • Free service providing case judgments; comprehensive coverage extending beyond UK law.

6.2.8 Supreme Court Judgments (2009–)

  • Available on Supreme Court's website; includes basic search and press summaries.

6.2.9 House of Lords Judgments (1996–2009)

  • Available on UK Parliament website; includes judgments in HTML and PDF formats.

6.2.10 Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

  • Contains judgments from various courts since 2012, searchable by court and date range.

6.2.11 Privy Council Judgments

  • Decisions after August 2009 available on Judicial Committee website; earlier decisions on BAILII.

Skills Beyond Study: Legal Research

  • Non-Law Applications: Conducting legal research builds transferable research skills applicable across professions.

  • Law Applications: Critical for building cases with complete legal authority; important to double-check relevancy and current law status.