This guide focuses on locating English Cases using resources in the Legal Research Center. For this guide we will use example citations from The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed.) (2005) Table 2: Foreign Jurisdictions: United Kingdom.
The English courts system is a precedent-based common law system not much different from the U.S. system. In England, civil actions are tried by the County Courts and appealed to the High Court (Includes Queen's Bench, Chancery, and Family Divisions). Criminal cases are handled by the Crown Court. The House of Lords is the supreme court of appeal for civil cases in the UK and criminal cases outside of Scotland.
| Rule | Citation Format | Example Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Table 2 | For cases prior to 1865 | Millar v. Taylor (1769) 98 Eng Rep 201, 242 (K.B.) |
| Table 2 |
For cases after 1865 contained in Law Reports
|
British Columbia Elec. Ry. v. Loach, [1916] 1 A.C. 719 (P.C. 1915)(appeal taken from B.C.) |
| Table 2 | Judgments after 2001 All judgments after 2001 have a medium neutral citation. Cases that are also reported in the official Law Reports should first list the medium neutral citation and then the citation of the official reporter |
Archbold v. Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons [2004] UKPC 1 (appeal taken from Eng.). |
Until 1865 there was no sanctioned reporter for English cases. Several commercial reporters published their own series which varied greatly. Available electronically through HeinOnline.
The Law Reports, which started in 1865, contains decisions of the English superior courts in four series: Appeal Cases, Chancery Division, Queen's or Kings Bench Division, and Family Division. Law Reportsare available electronically on Lexis and Westlaw.
Unofficial reporter series other than the Law Reports were still published after 1865, including Law Journal Reports (1822-1949), Times Law Reports (1884-1952 LRC Lower Level Microforms KD288 .A5), and Law Times Reports (1843-1859). Currently, only one set, All England Law Reports, is still published. This set incorporates the Law Journal Reports and the Law Times Reports.
https://www.sandiego.edu/library/
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldjudgmt.htm
http://www.bailii.org/databases.html
English and Welsh case law. Most of the databases contain predominantly recent material, but the coverage varies and both old and new content is being added on an ongoing basis.
This guide focuses on locating English Statutes using resources in the Legal Research Center. For this guide we will use example citations from The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed.) (2005)
Table 2: Foreign Jurisdictions: United Kingdom.
In England (UK) there is no counterpart to the United States Code in which statutes in force are assigned title and section. Instead, statutes are identified by their original title and date of enactment. Also note that there is no "official" codification of English Statutes. There are, however, unofficial publications that organize by subject the statutes currently in force. The most popular of these is Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales (Butterworths).
| RULE | CITATION FORMAT | EXAMPLE CITATION |
|---|---|---|
| Table 2 | For statutes prior to 1963 | Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1925, 15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 49, § 226, sched. 6 (Eng.). |
| Table 2 | For statutes enacted since 1963 | Airports Authority Act, 1965, c. 16 (Eng.). |
| Table 2 | If the name does not include the date or year, give the year parenthetically at the end of the citation. | Hypnotism Act, 15 & 16 Geo.6 & 1 Eliz. 2, c.44, § 117 (1952) (Eng.). |
Today, the most frequently used source of the English statutes is Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales (Butterworths), an unofficial compilation of the statutes in force, including treaties and secondary legislation of the EU. The statutes are arranged in 143 alphabetical titles representing broad subject categories, with annotations following each section.
Three editions of the Statutes Revised were published between 1870 and 1950, reprinting all Public Acts in force at the date of publication. They have been replaced by Statutes in Force: Official Revised Edition which began in 1972. Statutes in Force contains all statutes in force from 1235, in subject order along with their amendments. Statutes in Force has not been updated since 1992, and while it should not be used to look for current statutes, it is still useful for historical research.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ (HTML only)
Materials will be located in B2 North (map), with call numbers beginning as follows:
KD : England and Wales
KDC : Scotland
KDE : Northern Ireland