703 Canadian Case Law, Statutes and Regulations

The guide identifies print and electronic Canadian primary law sources available at or through the SMU Underwood Law Library.*  Some electronic sources identified are free over the Internet, but others are commercial services available only to subscribers with IDs.  Many of the free web resources cited are prepared and maintained by the Canadian Legal Information Institute abbreviated as CanLII in the guide.  Commercial databases with subscriber-only access are noted in aqua color, for example HeinOnline or the  LexisNexis & Westlaw links that require a subscriber ID.**  Only SMU law students and faculty have access to the Library's "Research Databases" page cited in the guide.  (Accessible from the law school network or by VPN.)

Contents

Main Index page plus commentary on Finding a Canadian Court Decision below.  Brief instructions on how to manually find Canadian case citations if you only have the party name, find cases by subject, or find a decision's subsequent treatment by the Canadian courts.  There is also a short list of books for more information on doing Canadian legal research and sources for finding or interpreting legal abbreviations. 

Canadian Federal Reporters, Statutes, Regulations, & Constitution

All-Canada Reporters & Historical Reporters

Provincial Reporters, Statutes & Regulations

Finding a Canadian Court Decision

To find the citation of a case for which you only have the party names, or to find parallel citations, use the Consolidated Table of Cases and its supplements, a part of the Canadian Abridgment 3d (now in process of superseding the 2d edition).  [Law 4th fl.: KE173 C35 2003] Use the Consolidated Table to find the volume and page number of every law reporter in which the decision appears along with references to the digest entry for the case in the Canadian Abridgment 2d/3d itself.  Entries in the Consolidated Table of Cases appear under both the plaintiff's and the defendant's names.

The Canadian Abridgment 2d, and its successor the Canadian Abridgment 3d, are the Canadian equivalent of the West digests for American case law.  Each entry is a summary of issues decided in a Canadian court or administrative tribunal.  Coverage begins in the early 1800s.  The digests are organized according to the Abridgment's Key Classification system.  See the "General Index" and the Canadian Abridgment, 2d Edition: Key and Research Guide [Law 4th fl.: KE173 C35 1966 Key] for access and further instructions on using the Canadian Abridgment.  The Canadian Abridgment 2d  [Law 4th fl.: KE173 C35 1966] will eventually be completely replaced by the Canadian Abridgment 3d.

See Canadian Case Citations, 1867-1998 and its supplements [Law 4th fl.: KE173 C354 CCC 1998] to find the history of a Canadian case and its subsequent treatment in the Canadian courts.  This service is arranged by case name rather than by citation as found in a typical American case citator.

For more on Canadian legal research, see:

1. MacEllven, Legal Research Handbook, 5th ed. (2003).  [Law 4th fl.: KE250 M33 2003]

2. Fitzgerald, Legal Problem Solving: Reasoning, Research, & Writing, 2nd ed (2001)  [Law 4th fl.: KE250 F57 2001]

3. Yogis & Christie, Legal Writing and Research Manual, 5th ed. (2000). [Law 4th fl.: KE298 L4 Y6 2000]

4. Banks & Foti, Banks on Using a Law Library: A Canadian Guide to Legal Research, 6th ed. (1994).  [Law 4th fl.: KE250 B87 1994]

5. Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 5th ed. (2002). [Law 4th fl.: KE259 C25 2002]  

For legal abbreviations, see:

1. Cardiff Index of Legal Abbreviations.  "This web-based service allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States, including those covering international and comparative law. A wide selection of major foreign language law publications is also included. ... The database mainly covers law reports and law periodicals, but some legislative publications and major textbooks are also included." (Quoted from the web site's own explanation.)  This U.K. web site is searchable by title or by abbreviation.  It asks whether you want exact matches or close matches which can be helpful.

2. Prince, Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, 5th ed. (2001).  [On Reserve]

3. Raistrick, Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations, 2nd ed. (1993). [Law Reference Office]

4. World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (4 vol. loose-leaf) (1991-  ).  [Law Reference: 2-C Ref K85 W67]

5. Yogis, Canadian Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (2003). Appendix VII. [Law Reference: 2-C Ref KE183 Y63 2003]