Cecily Zamora
There are several online resources for finding English case law. BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute) provides free access to the most comprehensive set of British and Irish primary legal materials. It includes case law from England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights. The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) also offers a free service, ICLR.3, which provides summarised reports of cases heard by the Supreme Court, House of Lords, Privy Council, Court of Appeal, and all divisions of the High Court, dating back to 2009. For historical cases, Westlaw's United Kingdom Cases database includes subject-specific case law reporters and historical cases published in The English Reports (1220-1865). Lexis (United Kingdom Materials) provides access to cases published in The All England Law Reports, the Scottish Civil Law Reports, and the Northern Ireland Reports. For print resources, the Key Number System and the use of annotations and footnotes are common research methods, while Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance, and Fastcase are databases that allow for keyword and phrase searches.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Database | Access to Law, Westlaw UK, BAILII, LLMC-digital, Fastcase, Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance |
| Database features | Searchable index, A-Z case name index, keyword and Boolean search, keyword and phrase search |
| Database content | Case summaries, transcripts, full-text judgments, historical cases, specialist law reports, case catalogues, case digests |
| Database coverage | UK, England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Commonwealth, Europe |
| Database cases | Recent and older cases, cases from 1220 onwards, cases from 1792-1998, cases from 2003 onwards |
| Database jurisdictions | UK, US, Canada, Germany, various international laws, Indigenous Law |
| Database courts | Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, Upper Tribunals, European Court of Human Rights, Court of Justice of the European Union |
| Database access | Free, subscription service, limited access for non-subscribers |
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What You'll Learn
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)
BAILII's interface is not as sleek and user-friendly as that of ICLR Online, but its coverage is broader. It includes case law from Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights. The case law search template supports both keyword and Boolean searching and enables users to restrict searches to a particular court or date range. Users can also search by citation and by party name.
BAILII's free database, maintained by the UK National Archives, enables users to search by keyword across the full texts of judgments issued by the UK Supreme Court, the higher courts of England and Wales, and selected subject-specific tribunals. BAILII also provides hyperlinks to cited cases found in its collections, and everything on TNA's Find Case Law service is also available under licence on BAILII.
BAILII OpenLaw supports legal education by recruiting experts to assemble and add case summaries to lists of significant judgments organised by subject. BAILII's social media feeds and lists of Recent Decisions, New Cases of Interest, Recent Additions, and Most-Requested Cases help people stay up-to-date on case law.
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The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR)
The ICLR's council consists of members nominated by each of the Inns of Court and by the General Council of the Bar. The company's primary series of reports is 'The Law Reports', which the council describes as "the most authoritative reports" and states should always be cited in preference where there is a choice. This series is divided into four main sub-series: Law Reports, Appeal Cases (AC), covering decisions of the House of Lords (and, since 2005, the Supreme Court); Law Reports, Chancery Division (Ch), covering decisions of the Chancery Division of the High Court; and Law Reports, Family Division (Fam), covering decisions of the Family Division of the High Court.
The ICLR also publishes additional reports, including The Weekly Law Reports (W.L.R.), which cover "the cases that really matter" and either develop the law or introduce a new point of law; the Industrial Cases Reports (I.C.R.), covering cases of employment law; The Business Law Reports (Bus. L.R.), covering company, commercial and intellectual property law; and The Public and Third Sector Law Reports (P.T.S.R.), covering issues such as adoption, charity, ecclesiastical law, education, environmental law, and social welfare.
The ICLR has a set of criteria for law reporting, originally proposed by Nathaniel Lindley, which states that care should be taken to exclude from the reports cases that are valueless as precedents or are substantially repetitions of earlier reports. Instead, the focus should be on valuable cases that introduce or modify existing principles or rules, settle or tend to settle doubtful questions, or are peculiarly instructive for some reason.
The ICLR's website, ICLR Online, provides access to all their published content, including the official series of The Law Reports, The Weekly Law Reports, and three specialist series. They also offer a free tool called Case Genie for legal research, as well as a subscription service for weekly case law updates.
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Online databases: Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Fastcase
Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Fastcase are online databases that provide access to case law. They serve as valuable tools for legal researchers, offering efficient and comprehensive access to judicial opinions and related resources.
Starting with Westlaw, this database is renowned for its accuracy and comprehensiveness. It boasts an extensive collection of primary and secondary legal sources, enabling thorough research. Westlaw's Key Number System facilitates quick identification of relevant case law, and its KeyCite citator tool ensures users work with "good law". Additionally, Westlaw incorporates generative AI capabilities and attorney editor expertise, enhancing the speed and precision of legal research. It also offers practical tools like how-to guides and templates.
Lexis Advance, owned by LexisNexis, is another popular database. It incorporates Shepard's Citations, a renowned citator, allowing users to assess the validity of cases by viewing how they have been treated by other cases. Lexis Advance also provides headnotes to track cases and offers full-text searching capabilities. LexisNexis also allows users to search by party name, although this method is more effective with unique names.
Fastcase is a lower-cost alternative to Westlaw and Lexis Advance. It provides access not only to cases but also to statutes, regulations, court rules, and constitutions. Fastcase includes powerful tools for identifying the best cases, such as interactive timelines that reveal the number of citations and their associated search terms.
While Westlaw and Lexis Advance require subscriptions, which can be costly, Fastcase may be included with bar association memberships, as is the case with the Missouri and Kansas Bar associations. These databases empower legal professionals and researchers by centralizing case law and enhancing the speed and depth of legal research.
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The Primary Sources page of the English Legal History research guide
Overview of Case Law Reporting in England and Wales
The page begins by providing historical context, explaining that the modern system of case law reporting in England and Wales dates back to 1865 with the establishment of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR). This section offers guidance on locating cases reported before 1865, directing researchers to the Primary Sources section of the guide. It also includes a table listing contemporary UK case law reporters and their corresponding citation formats, as citations to UK case law are still based on print reporters despite the shift to online research.
Online Databases for Case Law Research
The Primary Sources page offers an extensive list of online databases that provide access to English case law. These databases offer a wealth of information, with some focusing on specific areas of law while others provide a broader overview. Here are some of the key databases mentioned:
- BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute): BAILII offers a free online database of UK case law, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic. It provides a comprehensive set of primary legal materials, with over 50 case law databases covering courts and major tribunals. BAILII's interface may not be as user-friendly as other sites, but it offers broader coverage and supports keyword and Boolean searching.
- Westlaw UK: Westlaw is a subscription service that includes full text access to The Law Reports, English Reports, Session Cases, and specialised series such as Criminal Appeal Reports. It also offers transcripts of unreported cases, with extensive coverage from 1980 onwards.
- Lexis (United Kingdom Materials): Lexis provides access to cases published in The All England Law Reports, the Scottish Civil Law Reports, the Northern Ireland Reports, and dozens of subject-specific reporters. Researchers can search across all available reporters or conduct advanced searches by citation.
- ICLR Online: ICLR, established in 1865, offers freely available summarised reports of cases from 2009 onwards heard by the Supreme Court, House of Lords, Privy Council, Court of Appeal, and all divisions of the High Court. The database is updated daily and can be used to find references for any case published by the ICLR since its inception.
- LLMC-Digital: This collection includes English language legal titles and government documents from various jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom. It provides access to specialist law reports, such as the full text of the Family Court Reports (FCR), covering judgments from multiple courts, including the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Research Techniques and Tips
In addition to providing information about specific databases, the Primary Sources page offers guidance on effective case law research techniques. It highlights the benefits of using Boolean operators and connectors to create precise search strings, helping researchers refine their search results. The page also discusses the differences between researching in print versus online databases, noting that databases like Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance, and Fastcase support keyword and natural language phrase searches.
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The Year Books
The database compiled by Professor David J. Seipp of Boston University provides a searchable index to and paraphrase of printed Year Book reports. The database includes a list of old printed editions of Year Books, a list of manuscripts with locations, and an annotated bibliography of articles and books about the Year Books.
The following are some examples of Year Book reports:
- Year Books of 2 Richard II, 1378-1379, edited by Morris S. Arnold
- Year Books of Richard II, edited by Samuel E. Thorne
- Select Cases in the Exchequer Chamber, Before All the Justices of England, edited by Mary Hemmant
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Frequently asked questions
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) provides free access to the most comprehensive set of British and Irish primary legal materials available online. It includes case law from England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Yes, the website of barristers' chambers 5RB provides digests of selected cases relating to media and communications law from 1978 onwards, with many full-text judgments available.
Westlaw UK, Lexis Advance, and Fastcase are examples of subscription services that provide access to English case law.
Most databases allow for keyword and Boolean searching, and some also allow for the use of wildcard characters and proximity connectors.
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