{"id":6307,"date":"2019-01-25T23:04:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T23:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/"},"modified":"2023-04-10T13:36:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T13:36:25","slug":"common-law-sources-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Law Sources (UK)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#UK_Law_Reports\" title=\"UK Law Reports\">UK Law Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Historical_Law_Reports\" title=\"Historical Law Reports\">Historical Law Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#English_Law_Reports\" title=\"English Law Reports\">English Law Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Non-Official_Reports\" title=\"Non-Official Reports\">Non-Official Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Specialist_Reports\" title=\"Specialist Reports\">Specialist Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Modern_Citation\" title=\"Modern Citation\">Modern Citation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Digest_and_Indexes\" title=\"Digest and Indexes\">Digest and Indexes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#Northern_Ireland_Reports\" title=\"Northern Ireland Reports\">Northern Ireland Reports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/common-law-sources-uk\/#BAILII\" title=\"BAILII\">BAILII<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"UK_Law_Reports\"><\/span>UK Law Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The judgements of the UK courts constitute a very significant source of Irish law. The relative size of the United Kingdom is such that there is a greater volume of precedents available.<\/p>\n<p>Across a wide range of areas, legal precedents \/judgements of the English courts are regularly cited and relied on by the Irish courts. \u00a0This reflects the two Countries common legal heritage. In most non-statutory areas of law, there is very little discernible difference between Irish and English law.<\/p>\n<p>The Irish Constitution has had a significant influence and has opened divergences in some areas. English and Irish Statute law has diverged in many cases. \u00a0However, many statures are in the same, or similar terms in Ireland and England, for historical reasons and reasons of convenience. The European Union has reinforced uniformity in some areas.<\/p>\n<p>Northern Ireland law is very similar to the \u00a0Law of the Republic of Ireland in many areas. The jurisdictions were one until 1921 and had identical laws at that point. There were many cases where Northern Ireland precedent will carry great weight in the Republic of Ireland. \u00a0However, it is a relatively small jurisdiction and there is a correspondingly smaller number of judgements.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Historical_Law_Reports\"><\/span>Historical Law Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The oldest law reports are the \u201cYearbooks\u201d which date from the 13th century to the 16<sup>th<\/sup> century. \u00a0They were compiled in annual volume, initially in manuscript form. \u00a0The latest yearbooks went to about 1535. The yearbooks are largely of historical interest only. \u00a0The reports are largely confined to the facts and the decision and do not contain detailed legal reasoning. They are largely un-indexed.<\/p>\n<p>The Yearbooks were re-published in printed form in the 15th and 16th Century onwards. Abridgements were published privately in the 16th and 17th centuries. \u00a0They consist of case notes arranged topically, derived from the yearbooks. The Selden Society re-published volumes of the Yearbook series, commencing in the late 19<sup>th<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n<p>From the middle of the 16th Century, until the middle of the 19<sup>th<\/sup> Centuries, \u201cnominate\u201d reports were compiled by private reporters and were published under their names. They represented the earliest forms of the modern law report. Although they do not contain the long analysis commonly found in modern law reports, most are reasoned with reference to legal principles and with reference to precedents<\/p>\n<p>The nominate reports varied considerably in their quality. Some early series were published by well-known and eminent lawyers including Dyer and Coke who were senior judges in the 16th and 17th centuries. Others were criticised as less than reliable. Infamously, Espinasse, who published six volumes of reports,\u00a0 was said to hear half the judgment and report the other half<\/p>\n<p>Many of the nominate reports have been republished in a series of approximately 200 volumes, the English reports. \u00a0These have now been scanned and entered on the BAILII database and represents one of the largest publicly available sets of law reports. The Revised Reports republished nominate reports between 1785 to 1866. Both republished reports on the Common Law and Equity sides.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"English_Law_Reports\"><\/span>English Law Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The position in respect of the older English judgements is mentioned above. \u00a0The English Reports, which are now online on the BAILII website republished a large number of the so-called nominate reports, published in the two centuries prior to 1866.<\/p>\n<p>As in Ireland, a modern system of law reporting was established in 1865 in England, under the auspices of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting. \u00a0The Council publishes the Law Reports, which like the Irish Reports have a quasi-official status. \u00a0They are the official reports and preferred source of citation in court. The reports contain a headnote prepared by a barrister and summaries of the arguments of counsel.<\/p>\n<p>The principal series in English law reports comprises the following.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Appeal cases; cited AC<\/li>\n<li>Chancery Division; cited Ch<\/li>\n<li>Queen\\&#8217;s Bench Division; cited QB (King\u2019s Bench during a male monarchy)<\/li>\n<li>Family division; cited Fam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Non-Official_Reports\"><\/span>Non-Official Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A number of other well-known series have been published with headnotes and, \u00a0in some cases, arguments of counsel. \u00a0The Weekly Law Reports are published weekly in paperback volumes. \u00a0They are bound at year-end into 2 to 3 hardback volumes. They are cited WLR. They have been published since 1953 by the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting; the same publishers as the Law Reports.\u00a0 The Weekly Law Report superseded the Weekly Notes published from 1866 to 1952.<\/p>\n<p>The All English Law Reports have been produced by Butterworths. Private publishers, since 1936. They do not contain arguments of counsel but do contain headnotes.\u00a0 The All-England Law Reports Reprints were published by the same publishers, containing 36 volumes of cases in chronological order from the years 1558 to 1935, which continue to have relevance.<\/p>\n<p>The Times Newspaper has produced semi-formal reports of cases for well over a century.\u00a0 The Times Reports have been reprinted in monthly and annual volumes. They are cited TLR. The Law Times Reports were published twice annually, in 200 volumes between 1843 and 1947.\u00a0 They contain most of the same cases in the Law Reports. They were merged with the All England reports.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Specialist_Reports\"><\/span>Specialist Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A significant number of other specialist reports exist, including Criminal Appeal Reports, Family Courts Reports, Family Law Reports and Local Government Law Reports.<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of specialist series published by private publishers.\u00a0 Lloyd\\&#8217;s Law Reports deals principally with shipping and related commercial matters\/ It has been published since 1951.<\/p>\n<p>Other specialist reports include the Industrial Relations Law Reports (IRLR), Road Traffic Reports (RTR), (waterworks) Company Law Cases, Simons Tax Cases and tax case.<\/p>\n<p>Each series of reports has its own unique citation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Modern_Citation\"><\/span>Modern Citation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A 2001 practice direction provided that judgements should be published in a standard pattern. Each case should be assigned a neutral citation so that all cases including unreported cases should be readily identified. The citation has three elements: the date, the court code and the case number<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>EWHC (QB) Queen\\&#8217;s Bench High Court<\/li>\n<li>EWHC (Ch) Chancery Division<\/li>\n<li>EWHC (Fam) Family division<\/li>\n<li>EWHC (Admin) Administrative courts\/divisional court of the Queen\\&#8217;s Bench<\/li>\n<li>EWCA (Crim) court of appeal criminal division<\/li>\n<li>EWCA (Civ) Court of Appeal Civil division<\/li>\n<li>UKPC Privy Council<\/li>\n<li>UKHL UK House of Lords<\/li>\n<li>UKSC UK Supreme Court [post-2009]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Digest_and_Indexes\"><\/span>Digest and Indexes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The Law Reports have published digests or Indexes covering periodically. The cases are broken into certain areas, thematically.<\/p>\n<p>The most comprehensive digest of cases is published by Butterworths, legal publishers. It was originally known as the English and Empire digest. \u00a0Its first edition was published between the World Wars with cumulative supplements, up to 1951.\u00a0 The second \u201cblue\u201d edition was published in 1951 and 1970. \u00a0The third \u201cgreen\u201d edition was published between 1971 and 1987.<\/p>\n<p>The publication has been known as The Digest for the last 30 years and is now published in soft form by LexisNexis Butterworths.\u00a0 The Digest is a compendium.T he Digest provides summaries of the equivalent of headnotes of over half a million cases from mediaeval times to the present days. \u00a0It is the only comprehensive index to the principal law reports.<\/p>\n<p>The volumes of the Digest are arranged thematically, dealing with particular legal subject matters. The thematic divisions have changed over time, as circumstances required. Volumes are re-issued from time to time. There are multi-annual cumulative updates.<\/p>\n<p>The Digests include a consolidated list of tables and cases. The subject matter arrangement in the Digest is similar in Halsbury\\&#8217;s Laws of England.\u00a0 Halsbury\\&#8217;s Laws of England is as a comprehensive text dealing with the major subject areas in England and Wales law. It is now in its Fifth Edition.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Northern_Ireland_Reports\"><\/span>Northern Ireland Reports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Northern Ireland\\&#8217;s Reports have been published by the Incorporated Council for Law Reporting in Northern Ireland since [1924]. The official series is cited, for example, 1971 NI 1.<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Ireland\\&#8217;s Judgements Bulletin is produced monthly and more up-to-date. The reports are cited in NIJB.\u00a0 They have been published since 1996 and comprises some recent reported and unreported cases.<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Ireland Reports run from 1921. \u00a0Additionally, the Irish Digest include Northern Ireland cases.\u00a0The Northern Ireland reports are now included in commercial publishers\\&#8217; reports. \u00a0Lexis includes \u00a0Northern Ireland law reports since 1995.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BAILII\"><\/span>BAILII<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A notable and useful source of Irish law is the website bailii.org. \u00a0It includes both statutes and cases for each of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, as well as other jurisdictions since the mid-late 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>It also includes a range of UK and Commonwealth decisions including the English report and several other specialist law reports. \u00a0It is available free online.<\/p>\n<p>It has also published retrospectively, major judgments in important areas.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-6307\" data-postid=\"6307\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-6307 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK Law Reports The judgements of the UK courts constitute a very significant source of Irish law. The relative size of the United Kingdom is such that there is a greater volume of precedents available. Across a wide range of areas, legal precedents \/judgements of the English courts are regularly cited and relied on by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19015,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6307\/revisions\/19015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}