English Law

• The Digest:annotated British, Commonwealth and European cases -  Comprehensive digest of cases from the 13th century to the present, with annotated case summaries arranged by subject.  To find cases on a particular subject, start with the consolidated index at the end of the set. 
• 20 Years' Digest (1931-1950); Consolidated Index to Leading Law Reports (Decennial) (2000 to present)  Indexes to cases appearing in various reporters.  Cases indexed by subject, statute, and case name.

• Law Reports - Modern law reporting began in 1865 with the publication of this official authoritative series of reports covering all major courts.  The Bluebook requires that cases be cited to this series if reported therein.  The series has changed over the years along with the court structure; for a list of the different series and the years covered, check Sweet and Maxwell's Guide to Law Reports and Statutes.  The series currently consists of 4 parts - link is to most current print editions:
  • Law Reports, Appeal Cases
  • Law Reports, Chancery Division
  • Law Reports, Queen's Bench
  • Law Reports, Family Division

         We have them all current on ICLR online

• British and Irish LII - Selected judgments from various courts, from the 1800's to the present. Coverage varies by court.
• The Supreme Court - The Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction from the House of Lords in July 2009. - Judgments from July 31, 2009 to the present. Click on Decided Cases or Current Cases tab.  
• Parliament/House of Lords  Judgments from 1996 to July 30, 2009.
• Lexis Advance  Cases from various courts, with coverage from 1865 to the present.
• Westlaw  Cases from various courts, with coverage from 1865 to the present.  

• Placita Anglo-Normannica: Law Cases from Wm. I to Richard I (also on HeinOnline and LLMC Digital)  Collection of cases, in Latin, from 1066 to 1195.
• Bracton's Note Book: A Collection of Cases Decided in the King's Court during the Reign of Henry III (also on HeinOnline and LLMC Digital)  Collection of cases, in Latin, from 1217 to 1240.
• Year Books - These publications record the pleadings and debates of medieval English cases.  They were originally written in French, but some editions include English translations.  The library has these series:
  • Selden Society (with English translations) (also on HeinOnline)
  • Year Books of Richard II (with English translations) (also on HathiTrust)
  • Year Books, 1307-1483 (Sawbridge, Rawlins, etc.) (French only) (also available in print as individual titles)
• Nominate Reports - These collections of law reports were published privately by individuals, and each series was known by the name of its individual editor or compiler.  The library owns many of these reports; check the online catalog for individual titles.  Several sets have compiled and reprinted most of the cases from the nominate reports.  These sets include:
  • English Reports (Full Reprint) (also on HeinOnline and on the web)  Collects and reprints the most authoritative versions of the nominate reports, covering the years 1220 to 1867. 
  • All England Law Reports Reprint (also on Lexis Advance)  Collects and reprints over 5,000 cases from nominate reports, covering the years 1558 to 1934.
• Old Bailey Proceedings Online  A fully searchable digitized collection of the transcripts of every trial heard at the Old Bailey, England's central criminal court, from 1674 to 1913.
• HeinOnline World Trials  Digitized collection of trial transcripts and court documents, as well as trial-related resources which analyze and debate the decisions of famous trials.

Cases are traditionally cited to the reporter in which they are published.  Starting in 2001, the U.K. began using “neutral citations.”  A neutral citation cites to the court that issued a judgment rather than to a particular reporter.

The Bluebook requires that you cite first to the neutral citation and then to the official Law Reports, if the case is published therein (See Bluebook T2.42.1).

Here are some examples of neutral citations:

Brown v Davies [2006] EWCA Civ 166 

Campbell v Frisbee [2002] EWHC (Ch) 328 at [8]    

[EWCA Civ = Court of Appeal Civil Division]

[EWHC (Ch) = High Court (Chancery Division)]