Find Case Law
The State Library holds a range of Case Law materials from Commonwealth and Western Australian jurisdictions, as well as some eastern states and international material. Commonwealth legal materials are held on the 1st floor. All Western Australian material is on the 3rd floor as part of the Battye Library of Western Australian History.
Please note any assistance offered by the State Library of Western Australia staff should not be interpreted as legal advice. Legal advice should be sought from a qualified legal professional.
To Find an “Authorised” Case Report:
A series of reports which has been given official approval by the judiciary or government is known as an “authorised” or “official” series of reports. In each jurisdiction only one series is designated authorised. Cases which enunciate a general principle or point of law are usually included in the authorised series of reports.
The Australian Case Citator lists all Australian cases which have been reported since 1825. Each citation also contains a list of other cases where that judgement has been considered.
The Australian Case Citator (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 348.94047 AUS)
Understanding Citations
Cases that are published or “reported” are cited in a fairly standard way: Names of parties – Year – Volume of report – Abbreviated title of report – Page number
i.e., the citation relates to the series of law reports in which the judgement has been published. For example:
- Mabo v Queensland No 2 [1992] 175 CLR 1
- Fagan v Metropolitan Police Comr [1969] 1 QB 439
Current Commonwealth Authorised Reports
- Commonwealth Law Reports (High Court) (CLR) (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 346.4 AUS)
- Federal Court Reports (FCR) (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 348.94046 FED)
- Administrative Law Decisions (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) (ALD) 1st Fl, Stack 342.94066 ADM) (Ask Staff)
- Industrial reports (Industrial Relations Commission) (IR) (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 344.9401 IND)
- Repatriation pension decisions (Veterans' Review Board) (RPD) (1st Fl, Serial Stack 343.940112 REP) (Ask Staff)
- Western Australian authorised reports
- Western Australian Reports (WAR) (Authorised Report) (3rd Fl, Serial Stack 346.4941 WES) (Ask Staff)
- Western Australian Law Reports (WALR) (Authorised Report) (3rd Fl, Battye Shelves 346.4941 WES)
“Unauthorised” Reports
Unauthorised series of reports are produced more quickly and many are directed towards satisfying the needs of specialist practitioners. Unauthorised series of reports include many reports of cases which may be published later in an authorised series, however they also include reports which may only be of transient interest, or illustrate the application of authoritative cases.
Finding Reports by Subject
- Australian Digest: Indexes all significant decisions relating to a specific legal issue from the beginning of case law reporting in Australia (1825) to the present (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 348.94046 AUS)
- Australian Current Law – Reporter: A current awareness service that provides summaries of cases arranged by subject, often before officially reported (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 348.94 AUS)
- AustLII Databases: Searchable online databases of legislation and case law compiled by the Australasian Legal Information Institute (http://www.austlii.edu.au/)
- CCH Legal Resources: Online resource that includes Company Law Cases, Corporations and Securities Law Reporter, Corporations and Securities Legislation, Corporations Court Rules, De Facto Relationships Law and Labour Law Reporter (http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/albhome/eres/social.html#law)
Finding Cases by Legislation
- Federal Statutes Annotations – It has the same function as the Commonwealth Statutes Annotations. (1st Fl, Serial Shelves 348.94048 FED)
Help
Please ask a staff member at an enquiry desk for help if you cannot find what you are looking for. If you are outside the State Library you can seek assistance by:
1. telephone: 9427 3111
2. email: askus@slwa.wa.gov.au
3. AskNow (chat reference service): http://www.questionpoint.org/crs/servlet/org.oclc.home.TFSRedirect?virtcategory=11131
Page last updated: 06/01/2009 14:46:13