Transcript Slide 1

Singapore and UK
Case Law
Conducted by: Carol Wee
Content by: Lee Su-Lin
13th August 2014
© C J Koh Law Library 2008-15
No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying and recording, without the written
permission of the copyright holder, application for
which should be addressed to the author. Such written
permission must also be obtained before any part of
this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any
nature.
No copyright is claimed in the text of statutes,
regulations and court decisions quoted within this
work.
© C J Koh Law Library 2008-15
This tutorial is specifically
designed for the Legal Analysis,
Research and Communication
(LARC) course for first year law
students.
The purpose of this tutorial is to
teach students how to read
Singapore and UK case citations,
and to locate cases in the printed
law reports.
© C J Koh Law Library 2008-15
Contents
1. Primary sources of law p.5
2. Law reports of Singapore p.6
3. The case citation p.14
4. How to find a case if I have
a citation p.19
5. Law reports of UK
p.33
6. Finding cases with citations
p.39
7. Alternative citations p.58
© C J Koh Law Library 2008-15
Primary Sources of Law
Primary sources of law are authoritative records
of law made by the law-making bodies of
Singapore.
The 2 main sources of law are:
1. Legislation
Statutes
Subsidiary legislation
Quasi-legislation
2. Case Law
Decisions of the Singapore courts.
5
Law Reports of Singapore
Law reports are the published judgments of
court cases. Cases are only selected for
reporting if they raise or expand upon
significant points of law.
Therefore, only a small proportion of cases
are reported, and these are mainly from the
Supreme Court (i.e. High Court, Court of
Appeal and Constitutional Tribunal).
6
Law Reports of Singapore
A. Singapore Law Reports
The principle law report series in Singapore is
the Singapore Law Reports. It covers cases
from 1965.
Ref: K7599 SLR (1992-); K7599 SLR (1965-1991)
7
Law Reports of Singapore
B. Singapore Law Reports (Reissue)
The Academy of Law has re-issued the
Singapore Law Reports from 1965 through
2009 with re-written headnotes for the
reports from 1965 to 2002, and re-edited
judgment texts that conform to the SAL
house-style. This set of reports is called the
Singapore Law Reports (Reissue).
Both the original SLR volumes from 1965 to
2002, and the Reissue are equally
authoritative as each judgment reported in
both remains in substance, though not in
Ref: K7599 SLR
form, the same.
8
Law Reports of Singapore
C. Malayan Law Journal
The other law report series which is the major
source of reported Singapore court decisions
from 1932-1991 is the Malayan Law Journal.
Ref: K7599 MLJ
9
Law Reports of Singapore
D. Singapore Syariah Appeals Reports
The Singapore Syariah Appeals Reports is the
authoritative set of grounds of decisions delivered by
the Syariah Appeal Board between 1980 and 2010.
Ref: K7599 SSC
10
Law Reports of Singapore
E. Older Law Reports Series
Title
Abbreviation Publication Date
Ref
There
are
several
discontinued
series
of
law
Several
discontinued
series
of
law
reports
contain
SLR
1954-1957
K7599 SLR
Colony of Singapore
reports
that
contain
older
cases
from
the
courts
older cases from the courts(covers
of Singapore,
1953-1956) Malaya and
Law Reports
Borneo.
of
Singapore, Malaya and1950-1951
Borneo.
K7599 SLR
(previously called
(covers 1946-1949)
Singapore
Law
Reports)
complete listing
listing of
can
be be
found
on
A Acomplete
of these
thesereports
reports
can
found
1927-1950 (new series)
K7596 SSLR
Straits Settlements
p.vii-viii ofLaw SSLR
on p.vii-viii of Mallal’s (covers
Digest:
Consolidated
1926-1942)
Reports
Mallal’s Digest: Consolidated Table of Cases 2006
Table
of under
Cases
Reissue
under and
the
Reissue
the 2013
section
entitled
“Reports
1893-1931
(old series)
K7596 SSLR
section
entitled
“Reports
Publications
(covers and
1867-1922)
Publications
and Their
Abbreviations”.
(Reference:
K7599.3
Md
2006)
and
Their
Abbreviations”.
(Ref: K7599.3 K7600
Md) FMSLR
FMSLR
1922-1941
Federated
Malay
States
(covers 1906-1940)
Law Reports
Here is a reverse
chronological
list of a selectionK7596
of law
old
reverse
chronological
SLJ
1888-1892 list of major
SLJ
law reports:
is a
StraitsHere
Law Journal
Kyshe’sreports
Reports
through
Ky the years:
1885-1890
K7596 Ky
(covers 1808-1884)
Straits Law Reports
SLR Leic
1877
(covers 1827-1875)
K7596 SLR
11
Law Reports of Singapore
F. Other Sources of Law
Unreported Judgments
These are full text transcripts of written judgments as
handed down in the Subordinate Courts, the High Court
and Court of Appeal. They are available online in
LawNet .
Earlier judgments are available in print in the law
library:
Ref: K7599 CA (Court of Appeal, Civil Appeals)
K7599 CRA (Court of Appeal, Criminal Appeals)
K7599 DC (District Court)
K7599 J (High Court)
K7599 MC (Magistrates’ Court)
“Case Law & Decisions” of the Subordinate Courts and
Supreme Court are also available for free for the last 3
months in LawNet under its links to Free Resources.
12
Law Reports of Singapore
F. Other Sources of Law
Decisions of Boards/Tribunals
Decisions of various tribunals and boards are
available online in LawNet. Most of them are
not readily available in print.
Decisions include those of the
 Copyright Tribunal
 Income Tax Board of Review
 Military Court of Appeal
 Syariah Appeal Board
 Strata Titles Boards.
LawNet access: via NUS Faculty of Law Resources
13
The Case Citation
A. What is it?
A case citation is a reference to a legal case in
the law reports.
It generally includes the
names of the parties to the case
year the decision of the court was delivered
or published
volume number of the law report
abbreviation of the law report series
first page at which the case is reported.
Example
Anwar Siraj and Another v Ting Kang Chung John [2010] 1 SLR 1026
14
The Case Citation
B. Neutral Citation
The neutral citation system is defined in s.74(8)
of the Supreme Court Practice Directions as
follows:
“A neutral citation is a Court-approved system of
citation which is independent of the series of law
reports or other publication, and unique to each
written judgment. Each written judgment from a
particular level of Court is assigned a sequential
number, starting from 1 at the beginning of each
calendar year.”
A similar definition can be found in s.53(1) of the
Subordinate Courts Practice Directions (2006 Ed.).
15
The Case Citation
B. Neutral Citation
The neutral citation includes
names of the parties to the case
year of the court decision
jurisdiction/level of court Court designators include
SGCA – Singapore Court of Appeal
sequential number
SGHC – Singapore High Court
paragraph number(s)
SGDC – Singapore District Court
SGMC – Singapore Magistrates’ Court
Example
Public Prosecutor v Nguyen Tuong Van [2004] SGHC 54, [1]
16
The Case Citation
C. Citation Practice
According to s74(6) of the Supreme Court Practice
Directions, counsel who cite a judgment must use the
official series of the law report(s) or, if this is not available,
any other law report series in which the judgment was
published.
Local law reports are to be cited in order of preference as
follows (refer to s74(6) for more details):
1. Singapore Law Reports (2010-)
2. Singapore Law Reports Reissue
3. Singapore Law Reports (1965-2009)
4. Malayan Law Journal.
Also note: Cases reported in the Singapore Law Reports
shall be cited using their Singapore Law Reports citations,
in priority to their neutral citations (s74(8)(a)).
17
The Case Citation
D. Comparative Citations
If you have a case with an original SLR, MLJ or neutral citation
and need to determine the corresponding SLR(R) citation,
refer to the Singapore Law Reports (Reissue): Comparative
Table of Citations & Table of Cases Reported 1965 to 2009.
(Ref: K7599 SLR)
Corresponding
SLR(R) citation
SLR citation
18
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
I. Need a Print Copy?
Step 1:
Search an index to
legal abbreviations
to find out which
law report the
abbreviation
stands for
e.g. SSLR
Step 2:
Search LINC for
specific law report to
determine its location
in the library
19
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 1
Find out what the abbreviation SSLR stands for by
consulting an index to legal abbreviations.
Print:
Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 7th ed.
(Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2010) at App.
Ref: KB280.2 Can 2010
Online:
C J Koh Law Library, Singapore Legal Abbreviations,
http://libportal.nus.edu.sg/frontend/ms/c-j-koh-law-library/research/legalresources-on-the-web/law-in-singapore/glossaries-and-indexes/singaporelegal-abbreviations
20
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 1 (contd.)
A check online using
Singapore Legal
Abbreviations indicates
that SSLR stands for the
Straits Settlements Law
Reports
21
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2
Search the library catalogue LINC
(http://libportal.nus.edu.sg)
Enter title of
law report
here
Select “Title”
from drop down
menu
22
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2 (contd.)
Determine availability and location of volume 1929 of
the Straits Settlements Law Reports.
23
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2 (contd.)
Search for locations
of all 1929 volumes
24
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2 (contd.)
The 1929 volume can be found in various locations in the Law
and Central Libraries. But the most convenient locations for
retrieval are the Legislation/Reports and Singapore/Malaysia
collections in the Law Library.
Once you obtain the law report, turn to page 172 for the case.
25
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
II. Searching Online
You may also obtain Singapore cases from full text
databases. Databases are particularly useful when
you only have partial citations:
LawNet
- the only database that contains a comprehensive
collection of Singapore cases.
Access via NUS Faculty of Law Resources
Lexis Singapore
- contains Singapore cases reported in the Malayan
Law Journal from 1954 to 1991.
Access via NUS Libraries E-Resources
26
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
E.g. LawNet
Access via NUS Faculty of Law Resources
Select LawNet
27
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
Enter NUS ID
and password
28
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
After login, select:
1. Legal Research
2.Cases
3. Click Simple Search.
Enter name of party
and year case was
heard
5. SEARCH
4. Select “all of the
words” from
drop down menu
29
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
30
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122
1. Select Citation
Search
3. Enter
neutral
citation
2. Select Neutral
Citation from
drop down menu
31
How to Find a Case
if I Have a Citation?
E.g. Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122
32
Law Reports of UK
A. Modern Reports
1. The Law Reports (1865- )
The official set of law reports published by the Incorporated
Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales
Text of each report is reviewed by judges before publication
So, it takes between 10 and 14 months to report cases
The only set of reports that has a summary of the
arguments of counsel
The High Court and the Court of Appeal require that where a
case has been reported in the Law Reports, it must be cited
from that source. Other series may only be used when a
case is not reported in the Law Reports. See Practice Direction
(Judgments: Form Citation) (Supreme Court) [2001] 1 WLR 194.
33
Law Reports of UK
A. Modern Reports
1. The Law Reports (1865- ) (contd.)
The 4 current series of the Law Reports are:
Title
Reports Decisions of
Ref
Appeal Cases
(AC)
House of Lords, Privy Council &
Court of Justice of the European
Communities
K2022
4C
Queen’s Bench Queen’s Bench & Court of Appeal
& ECJ on appeal from QB
(QB)
K2022
2E
Family
(Fam)
Family Division & Court of Appeal
on appeal from Fam D
K2022
1C
Chancery
(Ch)
Chancery Division & Court of
Appeal on appeal from Ch D
K2022
3B
Online: ICLR
34
Law Reports of UK
A. Modern Reports
2. The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) (1953- )
Timely, full text reports.
Ref: K2020 WNR
Online: ICLR
3. All England Law Reports (All ER) (1936- )
Timely, full text reports; contains editorial notes.
Ref: K2020 AELR
Online: Lexis Library
35
Law Reports of UK
A. Modern Reports
4. Specialist series
Contain a selection of cases in a discrete practice
area.
e.g. Lloyds Law Reports (maritime and
commercial law)
Ref: K2020 LLLR
Online: i-law
5. Newspapers
Brief, edited reports.
e.g. The Times Law Reports
Ref: K2020 TR/ K2020 TLR
Online: ICLR
36
Law Reports of UK
B. Nominate Reports
The Nominate Reports refer to the various published
reports of English cases from the Middle Ages to the
1860s. They are known by the names of the reporters
and have been reprinted in:
1. The English Reports (1220-1865)
Most comprehensive compilation. 176 volumes of
cases & 2 index vols.
Ref: K2020 ER
Online: Hein Online
CommonLII (free access)
2. The All England Law Reports Reprint (1558-1935)
Criterion for inclusion: present day relevance or
value to the legal profession.
Ref: K2020 AE/ K2020 AEE (extension volumes)
Online: Lexis Library
37
Law Reports of UK
B. Nominate Reports
The English Reports
Ref: K2020 ER
38
Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Examples of Case Citations
Ashley and another v Chief Constable of Sussex
Police [2008] 3 All ER 573
Sam v Atkins [2006] RTR 171
Patterson v Smiths Dock Ltd and others [2006] 2
AC 572, [2006] 3 All ER 785, 89 BMLR 1
Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile v
Sogemin Metals Ltd and others [1997] 2 All ER
917, [1997] 1 WLR 1396
39
Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Need a Print Copy?
Step 1:
Search an index to
legal abbreviations to
find out which law
report the abbreviation
stands for
e.g. WLR
Step 2:
Search LINC for
law report by title
to determine its
location in library
40
Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Indexes to Legal Abbreviations
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Online: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/
“Table of Abbreviations” in the first volume for the year
in the Current Law Yearbook
Ref: KB3 CLY
Index to Legal Citations & Abbreviations (by Donald
Raistrick, 3rd ed., 2013)
Ref: KB280 Rai 2013
“Law Reports and Journals and Their Abbreviations”
in Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
Ref: KB12 Osb 2013
41
Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
E.g. Use Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
42
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
Examples of Citations
Hall v Hall, 3 Sw. & Tr. 347
Horn v Quash, 1 Keb. 5
Kinshela v Lee, 7 Beav. 300
Lord Fairfax v Lord Derby & Al’, 2 Vern. 612
Uvedale v Halfpenny, 2 P Wms 151
43
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
I. Need a Print Copy?
Use the indexes to the English Reports. These
indicate the volumes of the English Reports in which
the cases have been reprinted:
English Reports: Index of Cases (vols. 177 & 178)
Alphabetical listing of cases. Use this if you know the
name of the case, e.g. Alexander v Comber.
Ref: K2020 ER
English Reports Wall Chart
Use this when you only have the citation to the
case, e.g. I Keb 434.
Location: On wall opposite Law Library Information Desk
44
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
A. Use the English Reports: Index of Cases (vols. 177 & 178)
when you have a case name, e.g. Alexander v Comber.
Search Vol 177 (A-K) to find out in which volume and
on which page of the English Reports the case is located.
Case name
Volume of relevant English Report
Page where
case starts
45
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
A. Use the English Reports: Index of Cases (vols. 177 & 178)
when you have a case name, e.g. Alexander v Comber.
Page 13
Required
case
Volume 126 of English Reports
46
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
B. Use the Wall Chart when you have nominate report citation
e.g. 5 Co. Rep. 24
Locate volume of English Report in which nominate report is reprinted.
Volume no. of relevant Report
Nominate report abbreviation,
e.g. Co. Rep.
47
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
B. Use Wall Chart when you have Nominate Report citation
e.g. 5 Co. Rep. 24
Search for
5 Co. Rep. 24
Broughton’s Case
is the first case
that starts on this
page
Vol. 77 of English Reports
48
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
In summary:
Have names of parties?
E.g. Alexander v Comber
Use Index of Cases
Locate case in the
English Reports
Need a print
copy?
Have Nominate Report
citation?
E.g. 1 Keb 434
Ref: K2020 ER
Use Wall Chart
49
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
II. Searching Online
Search
for CommonLII
case by citation
or case name in
E.g.
Using
http://www.commonlii.org/uk/cases/EngR/
HeinOnline or CommonLII (free access).
50
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
II. Searching Online
CommonLII http://www.commonlii.org/uk/cases/EngR/
e.g. Williams v Byrne, 7 Ad. & E. 177
If you select
Database Search,
you can:
a. search by
or
case name
b. search by
citation
51
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports
II. Searching Online
CommonLII http://www.commonlii.org/uk/cases/EngR/
e.g. Williams v Byrne, 7 Ad. & E. 177
52
Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Examples of citations
A v Hoare and other appeals [2008] UKHL 6
United Kingdom House of Lords
Mealing (a child suing by her grandmother and
litigation friend) v Chelsea and Westminster
Healthcare NHS Trust [2008] EWHC 1664 (QB),
[2008] All ER (D) 306 (Jul)
England & Wales High Court
Home Office v Tariq [2011] UKSC 35
United Kingdom Supreme Court
A neutral citation contains the jurisdiction and court
designator.
53
Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
E.g. Using BAILII http://www.bailii.org/
Free resources
from other
jurisdictions
E.g.
AustLII
CanLII
HKLII
54
Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Using BAILII http://www.bailii.org/
e.g. Barnett & Ors v Nigel Hall Menswear Ltd
55
Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Using BAILII http://www.bailii.org/
e.g. Barnett & Ors v Nigel Hall Menswear Ltd
56
Finding Cases with Citations
D. Using Databases
Major databases:
WestLaw
Access via Faculty of Law Resources
Lexis Singapore
Access via NUS Libraries E-Resources
ICLR (covers the Law Reports, TLR & WLR)
Access via NUS Libraries E-Resources
HeinOnline (English Reports only)
Access via NUS Libraries E-Resources
BAILLI
Free website at http://www.bailii.org/
For a more comprehensive listing, refer to the Guide to
Electronic Resources Collection.
57
Alternative Citations
A. What Are They?
An important case may be reported in several
places. There will be a different citation for
each law report. Examples:
1. David Wilson Homes Ltd v Survey Services
Ltd (In Liquidation) [2001] EWCA Civ 34;
[2001] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 449, CA; [2001]
Build LR 267, 80 ConLR 8
2. Donoghue (or M’Alister) v Stevenson
[1932] AC 562; 101 LIPC 119; 48 TLR 494;
37 Com Cas 350; 1932 SC (HL) 31
*Where a Law Report citation is available, the
case should be cited from that source.
58
Alternative Citations
B. Finding Alternative Citations
One way to find alternative citations for UK cases
is to refer to The Digest. This is a multi-volume set
containing summaries of UK cases. The set is
accompanied by the Consolidated Table of Cases,
an index of all cases referred to in The Digest.
Reference: K2028 EED
59
Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Step 1. Refer to the relevant volume of the
Consolidated Table of Cases.
There are 3 index volumes (A-G; H-P; Q-Z). Search for the
case in the relevant volume. The volume of The Digest that
contains the case can be found next to the case name.
Step 2. Look for the case in the “Table of Cases” in
the relevant volume of The Digest.
The case number can be found adjacent to the case name.
Step 3. Refer to the relevant case number.
This provides a summary of the case followed by the citation(s)
of the case.
60
Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 1. Refer to volume “A-G” of the
Consolidated Table of Cases.
Search for Donoghue v Stevenson in the
alphabetical list. The table shows that the case
summary can be found in Volume 35(3) on
“Negligence”.
The case summary is
located in Volume 35(3)
on Negligence
61
Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 2. Search the “Table of Cases” in
Volume 35(3) for the case.
The case number in Volume 35(3) where the
case summary can be found is indicated next
to the case name.
Refer to para 1851
in Vol 35(3)
62
Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 3. Refer to paragraph 1851.
The paragraph provides a summary of the
Para 1851
case followed by its citations.
Citations for
Donoghue v Stevenson
63
Thank you!
You have reached the end of this
tutorial.
If you have any queries, email
[email protected] or speak to a
librarian at the C J Koh Law Library
Information Desk: 6516 2043.
For comments, send an email to:
[email protected]
Updated 8 Aug 2014
© C J Koh Law Library 2008-15