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Researchers should not assume that the plain meaning of a word or phrase is necessarily the same when it is defined in an Act of Parliament or in a court case.
There are two types of legal definitions:
Definitions in Cases: A judge clarifies the meaning of a word or phrase in their judgment, this is referred to as "words and phrases judicially defined".
Definitions in Acts: Words and phrases are defined by parliament in legislative instruments such as Acts and Regulations.
You need to make sure that the Act you are looking at is relevant to the jurisdiction in which you are working.
Also be aware of the limitation of the definition with an Act.
If a definition is not given in an Act, you should look at the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) and the Interpretation Act 1984 (WA) to see if they provide a standard definition which applies to all acts unless otherwise stated.
There are many legal dictionaries both in print and online, but they do not all hold the same value and importance in Australia as they do in the country of publication.
Meanings can vary from one jurisdiction to another. For example, do not assume that a definition that you find in a U.S. online dictionary is valid in Australia.
Similarly, do not assume that a word defined in a Victorian court has exactly the same meaning in WA.
However, when you can't find a useful definition in Australia you should consult whatever sources you can find, but you must use them with caution.
Other than the dictionaries recommended for purchase by your lecturers, the main reference dictionaries you should consult are:
- Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary (Lexis Advance): one of several online legal dictionaries, and one of the few online Australian dictionaries
- Words and phrases judicially defined in CaseBase on Lexis Advance and in the Digest on Westlaw Australia
- Australian Law Dictionary on Oxford Reference
General search for meanings or definitions
Sample search string for definition in legislation and case law for vicarious liability:
(character* OR compris* OR defin* OR describ* OR discuss* OR element* OR expla* OR interpret* OR mean* OR phras*) /15 "good character"
Sourcing legal definitions on Lexis Advance
Searching Lexis Advance Dictionaries
Lexis Advance has two dictionaries:
- Australian Legal Words & Phrases
gives the details of acts and cases which have defined the term - Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary
gives a definition as well as the details of cases and legislation which have defined the term
Quick Find
Use the Quick Find feature to source legal definitions from legal dictionaries
Step 1: Select the Defined Terms tab
Step 2: Add search term
Tip: add quotation marks/double inverted commas around a phrase to keep the words together for a search
Step 3: Select the radio button for Dictionary Definitions
Step 4: Click Search
The definitions include links to legislation and case law where a terms has been defined.
To find relevant cases
Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary includes links to relevant cases
Australian Legal Words & Phrases requires a few more moves to source relevant case law:
Step 1: Select an ALWP result from the Results List
Step 2: Click on the link to a clause in the legislation from ALWP entry
Step 3: Click on the >>View Legislation Citator link to the right of a section or clause in the Act to see cases that have referred to that section of legislation
Complete the tutorial:
- How to source legal definitions using Lexis AdvanceLearn the skill for searching for legal definitions from the legal dictionaries on Lexis Advance.
Words and phrases judicially considered on Lexis Advance
As well as legal dictionary definitions, words and phrases can be defined in court cases.
Judgments are useful, as they
- set out all interpretive rules used
- contain facts and analogous cases to illustrate legal concepts
- show the judge’s thought process
Note that most of the cases have a CaseBase entry, which gives an overview, as well as the full text of the judgment.
Step 1: Select Advanced Search for Cases
Step 2: Add search terms to the text box for Words and Phrases Judicially Considered
Tip: to restrict results to only migration law, add the word migration to the Legislation Title text box
Complete the tutorial:
Case Law Definitions in Westlaw Australia
Step 1: Access the Westlaw Australia database.
Step 2: Select the Content Type: Cases
Step 3: Select Advanced Search
Step 4: Navigate down the screen to the Words & Phrases search box
Enter the search terms in the Words & Phrases search box
For this example, enter "good character".
Select Search.
The Results list includes cases where the search term appears either in the judgment text, or the Digest entry.
Step 5: Results can be refined by:
+ Practice Area
+ Jurisdiction
+ Judgment Date
+ Court
+ Classification
Example: Search for "good character" using the Cases Advanced Search.
Australian Law Dictionary on Oxford Reference
- Access the Australian Law Dictionary
- You can
- browse entries alphabetically
- search within work using the search box to the left of screen
- Included in the definition are key cases and related terms
- If you cannot find a term in the Australian Law Dictionary, you can search all of Oxford Reference by adding your search term to the Search box at the top right of screen
- results will be sourced from a significant array of general English language dictionaries as well as specialist dictionaries