Best Guide to
Canadian Legal Research
Copyright © 1995-2008
Catherine P. Best
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Best Guide to
Canadian Legal Research
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As a general rule, it is best to start your research with a narrative secondary source, such as a text or legal encyclopaedia. This will give you an overview of your topic, help you to define the issues, lead you to periodical articles or primary sources, and give you key words to use when searching indices or on-line. It can also provide useful analysis of problem areas where the law is unclear.
Texts
There are a growing number of Canadian legal texts. Some cover a broad topic, such as the law of torts. Others cover a narrow topic, such as economic loss. Since a good legal text can save you considerable research time, it is worth your while to find out whether there are texts on your topic. Review texts critically, with the recognition that coverage, accuracy, currency and orientation vary considerably from one text to another.
If you do not know of a good text on the subject you are researching, the usual entry point is to conduct a key word search in the library catalogue. However, there are other aids at your disposal.
Use your key words to search through the indices in texts and other secondary sources. In addition to the index, look at the table of contents for the texts you review. Sometimes the index is poor, and the table of contents will make it easier to locate relevant passages. Also, the table of contents will give you a better sense of the emphasis and orientation of the text. Another way to locate the relevant passages is the table of cases and table of statutes included in the text. If you have a citation for a relevant primary source, look it up in these tables, and go directly to that section of the text.
Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias contain a narrative summary of the law, supported by references to primary sources. A legal encyclopedia may be the fastest way for you to get a reasonably current summary of the law on a certain topic, and to obtain references to relevant primary sources.
Unlike texts and periodicals, legal encyclopedias do not provide legal analysis or policy discussion. They seek only to summarize the law. Usually different titles are written by different authors, meaning that the quality of one title may vary considerably from the quality of another. Also, the currency of different titles may vary greatly. Always check to see who has written the title, and how current it is.
If there are other secondary sources covering your topic which are current, accurate and comprehensive, you may not need to use a legal encyclopedia. However, a legal encyclopedia can be particularly helpful in the following circumstances:
The Canadian Encyclopedic Digest, or CED, is a comprehensive Canadian legal encyclopedia. It is published in a Western edition, and an Ontario edition. The Western edition covers the law of the four Western provinces. Although these two editions exist, the contents of many titles are exactly the same in both editions. The currency and quality of the content varies considerably from one title to the next. Both the Western and Ontario editions are available electronically through LawSource on WestlaweCARSWELL. LawSource permits browsing by table of contents and full text searching of the CED, and includes references to the CED in KeyCite results.
Halsbury's Laws of Canada is a new publication that is being released gradually over several years. It covers all Canadian jurisdictions. It is published in print, and selected titles are also available electronically through Quicklaw topical subscriptions. This publication contains clearly written statements of Canadian legal principle based on common law and legislation, and indicates where the law differs as between jurisdictions. It is useful as a starting point or where a brief refresher on a particular area of law is required.
Halsbury's Laws of England is regarded as authoritative, and is often cited to the court. The CED is rarely cited and it is too early to predict how Halsbury's Laws of Canada will be received by the courts. Both the 3rd (green) and 4th (brown) editions of Halsbury's are available in most law libraries. Although the 4th edition is considerably more recent, and therefore reflects current UK law more accurately than the 3rd, some Canadian lawyers prefer the 3rd edition. This is because the 3rd edition is based primarily on English common law. The 3rd edition is not affected by the divergent path English law has taken as a result of statutory reform and England's membership in the European Union. The 3rd edition is also useful to Canadian lawyers because of the Canadian Converter. The Canadian Converter is reasonably current. It contains references to Canadian law, using the same subject titles and paragraph numbers as Halsbury's 3rd. If you want to use the Converter, you must first find the relevant paragraphs in Halsbury's 3rd. To find your topic in Halsbury's 3rd, use the General Index volumes for that edition. You can also review the table of contents for your topic in the hardcover volume for that topic. You cannot rely on Halsbury's 3rd for an accurate statement of English law, as the volumes in this edition are over 40 years out of date. Therefore, if you are researching English law, it is necessary to use Halsbury's 4th. There are several access points:
The hardcover main volumes are updated by the Cumulative Supplement, and by the looseleaf Current Service.
Legal Periodicals
If the texts and encyclopedia entries you find are too general, are outdated, or don't deal specifically with your jurisdiction, concentrate on finding periodical articles or continuing legal education seminar papers. If you are writing an academic paper, periodicals research is essential. Periodicals should also be reviewed if there has been new legislation, or an interesting case that might be the subject of a case comment.
References in cases or texts may lead you to relevant periodical articles. However, the most common way to find periodical articles is to look in a periodicals index or search a full text collection of articles. This site has a table that provides information about the most commonly used print and electronic legal periodical indices.
Searching periodicals indices in print and electronic media requires creativity and persistence in generating search terms.
So try your search in a variety of indices. You may find it helpful to acquaint yourself with the subject classification scheme for the index by looking at the print version before you carry out your electronic search. LegalTrac permits you to view its subject classification scheme, and to access articles much as you would using a print index or table of contents. When offered random keyword searching, as well as a more structured classification scheme approach, try both methods. Contents pages from the most current legal journals are made available by the Tarlton Law Library.
Lexis (LAWREV Library, ALLREV File) and Westlaw (TP-ALL Database) both offer extensive full text periodical databases, including coverage of some Canadian and Commonwealth periodicals. These databases can be searched easily using the natural language search option on Westlaw or Lexis. Quicklaw (in the Legal Journals database) and WestlaweCARSWELL have some full text Canadian periodicals. Hein Online also contains full text articles. It is available to UBC library cardholders, and to users of the BC Courthouse Library in Vancouver. The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia has made its seminar papers since 2001 available online in full text through CLE Online.
More recent articles are more likely to be available electronically. An alphabetical list of periodicals available in electronic form is maintained by the Bora Laskin Law Library. This list includes periodicals available on Lexis, Westlaw, Quicklaw, and the Internet and specifies where they are available. The WashLaw WEB law journal resource page also maintains an extensive listing of law journals with links to those available online.
ReferencesBest's Legal Bookmarks, Legal Publishers. Best, Periodicals Indexes. Bora Laskin Law Library, Alphabetical Listing of Electronic Journals. Bora Laskin Law Library Guide to Legal Research, Canadian Legal Resources. Castel & Latchman, The Practical Guide to Canadian Legal Research, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 1996). Findlaw, University Law Review Project. Best, Suggested Textbooks. Iosipescu & Whitehead, Legal Writing and Research Manual, 6th ed. (Toronto: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2004). MacEllven, Legal Research Handbook, 5th ed. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2003). Queen's University Faculty of Law, Legal Research Materials, Secondary Sources. University of Calgary, Law Library Research Guides, Periodical Articles. |
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As you gain experience, you will become familiar with the leading texts in
various areas. If you know of a text in your subject area, use the library catalogue to
find its call number. Then use the catalogue to locate other texts using the same call
number or subject classifications, or look on the shelf under the call number to find
other texts. You are likely to find the leading texts in the reserve section, rather than
in the general stacks.
In order to use both
There are
comprehensive legal encyclopedias, that purport to cover all legal topics. Examples of
comprehensive legal encyclopedias are the Canadian Encyclopedia Digest,
and Halsbury's Laws of 
Before relying on
a statement in a legal encyclopedia, review the primary sources cited to ensure the
statement is supported by the sources. Often a bold statement of law in an encyclopedia
or text is not fully supported by the authorities cited.
Periodical
articles are particularly useful for developing policy arguments, and for close analysis
of difficult cases. A narrow issue covered in a passing footnote in a text may be the
subject of several pages of discussion in a periodical article. Articles are usually
well-footnoted, with references to primary or other secondary sources.
At many
libraries, print versions of these indices have been discontinued in favour of
Many periodicals are
now available in full text electronic form. This permits you to search directly using the
words in the articles themselves to find relevant articles.
The Internet
is a growing source for full text periodical searches. You can search full text legal
periodicals on the Web using the 