Washminster

Washminster
Washminster

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Law Reports (UK)

Once it was necessary to subscribe to (an expensive) series of law reports to read leading judgements soon after they were delivered. While special deals were available to students - it was still a costly business. Now electronic databases are available - and it is no longer necessary to search for the particular book (sometimes in vain! - there were some despicable students who would hide particular volumes - so keeping to themselves a resource all students needed). However, access to a database is expensive if you can't use one through a university or law firm.

The UK Supreme Court now publishes judgements on its website. This is accessible here. A press summary is available in pdf format - as is the full judgement. For those who aspire to be lawyers, it is worth getting into the habit of reading full judgements. Each judge explains his or her reasoning - and a better appreciation of the issues can be gained.

Court of Appeal judgements can be accessed via BAILII