Introduction to the different types of legal literature - Knowledge Base
•
1 like•745 views
This document provides an introduction to different types of legal literature that law students may encounter, including legislation, cases, institutional writings, journal articles, books, and parliamentary materials. It discusses finding each type in print or online and gives brief overviews and examples of each type. Legislation is described as coming from the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, and European Union. Cases are discussed in terms of print law reports, official versus unofficial reports, and online databases. Institutional writings are highlighted as formal sources of Scots law.
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Introduction to the different types of legal literature - Knowledge Base
Similar to Introduction to the different types of legal literature - Knowledge Base (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Introduction to the different types of legal literature - Knowledge Base
- 2. Different types of legal literature In this resource we are going to concentrate specifically on the following types of legal materials • Legislation • Cases • Institutional Writings • Journal articles • Books • Parliamentary materials Law students are required to use lots of different types of legal materials in both print and electronic formats – it can seem pretty overwhelming at first working out how to find them! You will find links to detailed information about finding & using the different types of legal materials in each section of this resource
- 3. 1. Legislation One of the complications of studying Scots law is that there are now three levels of legislation with which you need to be familiar: • UK Parliament at Westminster makes laws for the United Kingdom • Scottish Parliament at Holyrood makes laws (within certain limits) only for Scotland • European Union, acting through various institutions, laws for all its member states. 1. Legislation The most important source of law in contemporary society is legislation or statute law, followed by precedent or case law. The most obvious difference between legislation and case law is who makes it: legislation is made by legislatures (parliaments) and case law by the courts
- 4. 1. Legislation ‐ UK & Scotland Print Legislation is what is passed by Parliament – which is split into primary (Acts) and secondary types (Statutory Instruments) The Library has an extensive collection of printed Legislation from both the Holyrood and Westminster Parliaments which you’ll find on Level 7 of the Main Library Print copies of Acts and Statutory Instruments cannot be borrowed and must be used in the Library. 1 . Legislation – UK & Scottish Parliaments ‐ Print
- 5. Legislation – UK & Scotland online The best online source is Westlaw UK which has both fully‐updated & historical versions of all acts & statutory instruments passed by the UK & Scottish Parliaments Library Knowledge Base For help accessing & using legislation online see : Finding & Using Statutes Online access to UK & Scottish Parliament statutes is available from several sources 1 . Legislation – UK & Scottish Parliaments Online
- 6. Legislation – European Union Primary legislation are the Treaties The three types of secondary legislation are • Regulations • Directives • Decisions The terms ‘primary legislation’ and ‘secondary legislation’ are used in a different sense in European Union law from that used in domestic law. 1 . Legislation – European Union
- 7. Legislation – EU legislation online Online access to European Union legislation is available from several sources, including Westlaw. The easiest to use online source for EU legislation is EurLex. EUR‐Lex provides free access, in the 24 official EU languages: • the Official Journal of the European Union • EU law (EU treaties, directives, regulations, decisions, consolidated legislation, etc.) • preparatory acts (legislative proposals, reports, green and white papers, etc.) • EU case‐law (judgements, orders, etc.) • international agreements http://eur‐lex.europa.eu/homepage.html 1 . Legislation – European Union
- 9. 2. Cases ‐ Not all Law reports are the same! There is a hierarchy or ranking of Law Reports and a distinction between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ reports. The term ‘official reports’ refers to reports that have been revised by judges before publication and may also offer additional content: they sometimes include excerpts from the arguments made by counsel, which can be helpful in understanding a case. The official reports are regarded as the most authoritative. In Scotland, the official reports are the Session Cases (which include reports of Justiciary cases and of Scottish cases in the House of Lords and Supreme Court) published by the Scottish Council of Law Reporting. In England, the official reports series (Appeal Cases, Queen’s Bench Reports etc.) are published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting. Unofficial reports are produced by a variety of commercial firms including LexisNexis and Sweet & Maxwell. Nevertheless, other series such as the Scots Law Times and the Scottish Criminal Case Reports are highly respected and often carry decisions that have not been published elsewhere. Not all cases are reported in an authorised law report. 2 . Cases
- 11. 2. Cases ‐ Print The Library has an extensive collection of print Law reports which you’ll find on Level 7 of the Main Library – Law Reports cannot be borrowed and must be used in the Library. They are arranged alphabetically by title – so once you know what the abbreviation of the case citation stands for just go to the shelves and find the case! 2. Cases – Print collections
- 12. 2. Cases ‐ Online The majority of the cases you will need to read can also be found on one of the legal databases the Library subscribes to; which one depends on who owns the publishing rights to specific series of law reports your case appears in. It is worth spending a little time getting used to Which sources appear where – remember you access these databases via the Library website. The two most heavily used and popular ones are Westlaw UK & LexisLibrary – you need to get to grips with using these as soon as! 2. Cases Online Library Knowledge Base For help accessing & using online case reports see : Cases – Using Online Sources
- 13. 2. Want to know more about law reporting in Scotland? The Scottish Council of Law Reporting has Commissioned a series of five linked short films about law reporting in Scotland and the place of law reports in Scottish legal practice. The celebrated case of Donoghue v. Stevenson provides a theme to explain the role of precedent in the work of lawyers and the courts. It’s a useful introduction To understanding the role of law reports as a primary source of law. The five films are: • Donoghue v. Stevenson: The History of Law Reporting • The Law of Judges: Precedent and the Criteria for the Reporting of Cases • Anatomy of the Law: The Authority, Authorship and Arrangement of Session Cases • In the Case Of: Using the Reports • Books and Bytes: Accessing the Reports 2. Want to know more about law reporting in Scotland? http://www.scottishlawreports.org.uk/
- 14. 3. Institutional Writings A number of works by academic authors, called institutional writers, have been identified as formal sources of law in Scotland since at least the 19th century. Written over a period of 150 years, from the mid‐17th to the early 19th centuries, certain writers produced systematic treatments covering large areas of Scots law. Sir James Dalrymple, Viscount of Stair https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15855559 • Viscount Stair, Institutions of the Law of Scotland (1681) generally regarded as the greatest of the institutional writings. • Sir Thomas Craig, Ius Feudale (1655) • Sir George MacKenzie, Laws and Customs of Scotland in Matters Criminal (1678) • Sir George Mackenzie, Institutions of the Law of Scotland (1684) • Lord Bankton, An Institute of the Law of Scotland (1751‐1753) • Lord Kames, Principles of Equity (1760) • John Erskine, an Institute of the Law of Scotland (1772) and perhaps also his Principles of the Law of Scotland (1759) • Baron David Hume, Commentaries on the Law of Scotland Respecting the Description and Punishment of Crimes (1797) • George Joseph Bell, Commentaries on the Law of Scotland and Principles of Mercantile Jurisprudence (1804) and Principles of the Law of Scotland (1829) • Archibald Allison, Principles of the Criminal law of Scotland (1833) 3. Institutional Writings
- 15. 3. Institutional Writings – print and online A number of Institutional writings are available to read online through Google Books or on databases such as Historical texts and Scottish Legal History on HeinOnline. Printed copies of the various editions of all of the major texts are available in the Library and you can find through the Specific Book Search on the Library website. Please note, that you should use copies listed as being available from Level 7 Law Collections and the not those in Special Collections. 3. Institutional Writings
- 18. 6. Official Publications 6. Official publications • Parliamentary Debates • Reports of Parliamentary committees • Government White and Green papers • Reports of judicial inquiries • Reports of authoritative bodies • European Union documents • Council of Europe documents While not formal legal sources, ‘Official‘ or government documents will be something that you will use during your legal studies. Official publications include documents and reports issued by parliaments or government departments and agencies of international organisations such as the United Nations or the European Union. Google is probably the best way to locate contemporary government information that you know exists and there are specialist databases that provide access to the historical materials. The Library has excellent UK & Scottish Parliament collections and European Union & Council of Europe print collections – these include: CC BY‐SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47976505 Library Knowledge Base For more detailed information see: Official Publications