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Case Law
Cases are a primary legal material.
Case law, also termed ‘common law‘, is distinguished from statute law (legislation).
Case law is a primary source of law, developed over time by judges in superior courts.
Each case or judgment delivered by these superior courts is the solution to the dispute between parties to the case.
A precedent is a judgment that is authority for later cases with similar facts; a case that is authority for the legal principle contained in its decision (such as the Engineer's Case).
The doctrine of precedent means that the decision of a court on a matter of law is binding on all courts lower in the judicial hierarchy.
Understanding the structure of a case enables you to:
- locate a case
- locate and assess other relevant information that will assist in determining its relevance to a particular situation
- locate similar cases of relevance
There are different types of law reports:
- authorised
- unauthorised
- unreported - medium neutral
You can source Australian cases from
Source UK cases from
More detailed instructions are on the How to Source Cases page.
Reported Cases
The essence of a case citation for a report series is:
Parties' names + year + volume (if any) + series abbreviation + starting page number + pinpoint reference.
Unreported Cases
The essence of a case citation for an unreported judgment in medium neutral format is:
Parties' names + [Year of publication] + Unique court identifier + Judgment no. + [Pinpoint.]
Each court has an identifier and within each year each judgment is given a running number.
Each paragraph within the case is numbered which increases precision in pinpoint citation within a decision.
Examples:
Singh v Commonwealth of Australia [2004] HCA 43.
Justelle Nominees Pty Ltd v Martin [No 2] [2009] WASC 15, [10].
Consult the AGLC Referencing Guide for more specific citation guidlines.
[Square Brackets] and (Parenthenses)
(Parentheses) are used to include the year when a reporting series numbered its volumes starting a 1 (so you would have no idea of the age of the case without this extra information).
[Square Brackets] are used for reporting series that number volumes according to the year.
Explanation In Detail
With a few exceptions, the choice of [square brackets] or (parentheses) indicates the manner in which the case series is organised.
Where a law report series uses continuous numbering of its volumes, parentheses are used around the year.
Where there is no volume numbering or the numbering begins from 1 again each year, the year is placed in square brackets.
This places the emphasis on the year for location purposes rather than on a recurring volume number.
Some exceptions to this occur in particular case series where the publisher has chosen not to adhere to standard conventions.
For example: Corbett v Pallas [1995] Aust Torts Reports 62,236.
For more information on the use of [square brackets] versus (parentheses) see 2.2 of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
Legal Abbreviations
The abbreviation for a series of law reports is usually the initial letters of the words in the title.
Case law and journal citations are made up of the abbreviation for the case report series or journal.
Find the unabbreviated case report series or journal title from Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Parallel Citations
Court reporting is a business.
It is like reporting the news - how a news item is reported by the ABC or SBS, compared with 7, 9, or 10 – how there are different versions which emphasise different aspects.
Case reporting series are similar, in that there are different versions of a case.
If a subject specialist series reports a case, there will be an emphasis on that subject with a lot more detail.
Additionally, the subject specialist and generalist reporting series are available the day following the judgment.
Authorised versions are only available annually.
There is one authorised case reporting per jurisdiction.
References to cases in your textbooks include all of the court reporting series where the case can be sourced.
Listing all case reporting series in which a case can be sourced is called giving parallel citations.
All versions are given because readers may have access to only one of the case reporting series.
Parallel citations are listed as a hierarchy, from the most authoritative down.
You should always attempt the most authoritative case reporting service available.
When referencing or citing a case in your assignments, you should only include the citation of the version you have accessed – not all of the parallel citations.
e.g. Hot Holdings Pty Ltd v Creasy (1996) 185 CLR 149.
Source, and cite, the most authoritative version of a case.
Case Sourcing Strategy
You need to know which database to search to find a case.
Otherwise, it's like trying to find Wonder Woman in a Marvel comic!
Step 1: Solve the abbreviation of the court reporting series into full using Cardiff
Step 2: Search for the full name of the court reporting service using Library Search
Step 3: Source the court reporting service on the correct database eg Lexis Advance or Westlaw Australia
Example case
Source Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (1920) 28 CLR 129
Step 1: Solve the abbreviation of the court reporting series into full using Cardiff
CLR = Commonwealth Law Reports
Step 2: Search for the full name of the court reporting service using Library Search
Type "Commonwealth Law Reports" into Library Search
From the Results list, select
Commonwealth Law Reports
eJournal Full Text Online
Step 3: Source the court reporting service on the correct database
Select link below Available online
Step 4: Search for the case by Party Name or Citation
Famous Court Cases
For famous cases, such as the AAP Case, Engineers' Case, Mabo Case, Seas & Submerged Lands Case and the Woollen Underwear Case, start by search legal encyclopaedia and case citators (they are often referred to by their common names):
- The Laws of Australia (available via the database Westlaw Australia )
Halsbury's Laws of Australia (available via the database Lexis Advance )
Cases Cited By a Case
To source cases cited / referred to in a case (precedence) from a database:
- select Cases Advanced Search
- search by case name or citation
- Use a citator tool
- Lexis Advance - CaseBase - select Cases considered by this case
- Westlaw Australia - Digest - select Table of Authorities tab
- AustLII - LawCite - navigate to Cases and Articles Cited
Cases Citing a Case
To source cases that cite / refer to a case (using the case as precedence) from a database:
- select Cases Advanced Search
- search by case name or citation
- Use a citator tool
- Lexis Advance - CaseBase - select Cases referring to this case
- Westlaw Australia - Digest - select Citing References tab - Cases
- AustLII - LawCite - navigate to Cases Referring to this Case
LawNow, on Lexis Advance database, contains legislation with links to judicial consideration (cases) of Acts and/or sections
Select the Legislation tab in the Quick Find box, in the centre of the Lexis Advance home page
Enter the Act tile, and section. subsection or clause number
Once you are in the Act:
Select View legislation citator link to view cases citing this section of legislation
