Transcript Research Tutorial for LLM students on Common Law Reasoning

Conducted by: Carol Wee
Contents by: Bissy & Su-Lin
12th Aug 2014
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Library collection

Secondary resources

Electronic resources

C J Koh Law Library home page

FindMore@NUSL
The C J Koh Law Library has a rich collection of local, foreign
and international legal resources.
The library’s traditional strength is in the common law. Apart from a
comprehensive collection of Singapore legal materials, the library also has
extensive collections of legal resources from Australia, Canada, India,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of
America.
The library has developed collections on comparative and international law,
international trade law as well as the laws of the European Community.
The library’s print collection is bolstered by subscriptions to online legal
resources which are available via the NUS Libraries Portal
http://libportal.nus.edu.sg/. Major databases include HeinOnline, Justis
and LexisNexis.
Secondary sources are publications which refer and relate to the
law, but are not themselves sources of law. These include:
1.
Textbooks, casebooks, etc.
2.
Legal encyclopaedias
3.
Legal periodicals
4.
Research literature. E.g. Theses
5.
Reference works. E.g. Dictionaries, directories,
bibliographies, digests, citators, indexes, etc.
Secondary sources
assist in locating relevant primary sources of law
assist in the interpretation of relevant primary sources.
Secondary sources are important:

In legal research, referring to a secondary source is often
the first step in the learning the basics of a particular
area of law;

Thorough legal research requires the use of the various
categories of secondary sources;

Secondary sources may be cited in court in support of a
particular proposition in law - a court may not be bound by
secondary authorities, but books or articles written by
eminent authors of reputable standing may have
significant persuasive value in selecting between
conflicting authorities (see guidelines in Citation of
Secondary Authorities in Court, Supreme Court Registrar’s
Circular, No.3 of 2004, s.2(b), online: Registrar’s Circulars
http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/data/doc/ManagePage/99/
2004-3.pdf).
1.
Textbooks, Casebooks, etc.
(a) Textbooks – provide commentaries and critical evaluation
of the law.
E.g. Constitutional Law in Malaysia and Singapore
(b) Casebooks – contain summaries of key judgments on a
particular subject, sometimes with editorial commentary.
E.g. Contract Cases and Materials (by Beale, Bishop and
Furmston)
(c) Practice books – primarily for use by legal practitioners.
Include guides to practice and procedure in the courts.
E.g. Chitty on Contracts
Lewin on Trusts
Singapore Court Practice 2009
1.
2.
Textbooks, Casebooks, etc. (contd.)
(d) Precedent books – specimens of forms and other legal
documents with layout and wording accepted as standard
by lawyers.
E.g. Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents
(e) Loose-leaf services - books in loose-leaf format which are
regularly updated to keep abreast of changes in the law.
E.g. Woon’s Corporations Law
Legal Encyclopaedias
These provide detailed statements of the law in alphabetical
subject arrangement. Good starting points for research, and are
sometimes preferred to textbooks for an overview of the topic.
E.g. Corpus Juris Secundum
Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore
3.
Legal Periodicals
Law journals and reviews provide information on the latest
developments in the law as well as comments and criticisms
of the law.
E.g. Criminal Law Review
Singapore Journal of Legal Studies
4.
Research Literature
Doctoral, Masters and other theses provide in-depth analysis
of specific topics. Theses submitted to the NUS Faculty of Law
are shelved in the C J Koh Law Library’s Theses Collection at
call no. KE5009 *[year] [no.]
E.g. KE5009 *1981 10
5.
Reference Works
(a) Legal Dictionaries, Glossaries, Words and Phrases –
provide definitions of legal words or phrases.
E.g. Black’s Law Dictionary
Parliamentary Glossary: a Guide to Terms Used in the
Singapore Parliament
Words and Phrases Legally Defined
(b) Legal Directories, Law Lists, etc. – listings of and
information on lawyers.
E.g. The Law Society of Singapore Directory
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
5. Reference Works (contd.)
(c) Bibliographies – listings of books that have been published
on a subject.
E.g. A Bibliographical Survey of Singaporean Legal Materials
(d) Digests – contain summaries of cases.
E.g. The Digest: Annotated British, Commonwealth and
European Cases
Mallal’s Digest of Malaysian and Singapore Case Law
(e) Citators
● Case citators – list references to where cases were originally
reported and to where they were subsequently cited.
E.g. Current Law Case Citator
● Legislation citators – list references to cases which cited
particular legislation.
E.g. Mallal’s Digest: Legislation Citator 1932 to 2006
5.
Reference Works (contd.)
(f) Indexes - include indexes of:
● legal citations and abbreviations – provide meanings of legal
abbreviations.
E.g. Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (by Donald
Raistrick)
Singapore Legal Abbreviations
● cases – alphabetical or subject listings of cases.
E.g. Mallal’s Digest: Consolidated Tables of Cases 2009
Reissue
● legislation – alphabetical or subject listings of legislation.
E.g. Chronological Table of the Statutes (published by HMSO)
● legal periodicals – listings of journal articles by author or subject.
E.g. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books
Law Databases
& More…….
How to find articles on “Rylands v Fletcher”?
For e.g. Using LegalTrac
Select
Resources >
Databases >
By Subject >
Find the Citation Using an Indexing database
Find the Citation Using an Indexing database
Enter relevant keywords in the search box and search.
16
Search
results:
Full texts
occasionally
available in
PDF format
Click here to
check
availability of
this article via
other Library
subscribed
resources
Find the Citation Using an Indexing database
Where do I find articles on “Rylands v Fletcher”?
Find journal articles
17
Using a Full Text Database
E.g. Using HeinOnline to find articles on “inchoate title”
From the NUS Libraries Portal page (http://libportal.nus/edu.sg/)
select: Resources > Databases > By Subject > Law > HeinOnline. After logging in
with your NUSNET ID and password:
Find journal articles
Using a Full Text Database
On this page, you can browse publication titles. If not, then select your
preferred search options:
Find journal articles
Using a Full Text Database
Select the field you want to search using the drop-down menu (e.g. “Text” or
“Article Title”), and then enter the relevant search terms before clicking on the
Search button below:
E.g. Using HeinOnline to find articles on “inchoate title”
Find Newspaper articles
Are newspaper articles relevant?
Newspaper articles provide valuable sources of information:
the latest legal news
commentaries on the law
information on current cases, many of which may never be
published in the law reports
Haze law passed; fines may go up if necessary
Straits Times, 6 Aug 2014
PARLIAMENT; Anti-piracy law set to kick in soon
Straits Times, 8 Jul 2014
New sentencing guidelines for cigarette smugglers
Straits Times, 16 April 2014
20
Find Newspaper articles
Full texts of newspaper articles may be obtained from the
following databases:
Access to world leading and business sources including The
Straits Times (1 May 1992-), Business Times (1 May 1992-),
The Times (UK) (1 Jul 1985-)
Access to local, national and international newspapers
and business magazines, including The Straits Times (1 Jul
1989-),
Business Times (29 Jan 1984-),
The Times (UK) (5 Jan 1981-),
The New York Times (1 Jun 1980-)
Access these databases via the NUS Libraries Portal:
http://libportal.nus.edu.sg/
Find Newspaper Articles
Under
Resources,
click on
E-Newspapers
and select
Factiva on the
next screen
or select
Databases
and then
click on
Factiva
Find Newspaper Articles
There are limited
licences for this
database. If you
encounter an
error message,
try again later.
Click on
Continue
Find Newspaper Articles
Select
Search
Select Search
Builder
E.g. Search for Straits Times articles on sentencing in the “Tang Wee
Sung kidney transplant” case
Find Newspaper Articles
Search for your
source e.g.
Straits Times
Find Newspaper Articles
Enter
Search terms
Select date range
Select relevant
source
Find Newspaper Articles
Click on
relevant
title for
full text
Lexis Singapore
Search case Rylands v Fletcher
Lexis Singapore
Search case Rylands v Fletcher
Law Faculty Home page http://www.law.nus.edu.sg/
Companies Act
Jeyaretnam Joshua Benjamin v Lee Kuan Yew
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Index to free
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resources
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