LAW Foreign Legislation
Accessing the law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (U.K.) includes England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Statutes passed by the U.K. Parliament may also apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
European Union (E.U.) law has had an impact on U.K. law since the European Communities Act of 1972. The House of Lords ruled in Factorame litigation that E.U. law overrides domestic law. When the E.U. law applies to U.K., look for E.U. Directives. Statutory instruments may be passed under the E.U. Directive.
The U.K. consitution is unwritten, but includes Statutes, E.U. law, cases, treatises and conventions or customs.
To determine legislative intent look at: white papers, committee reports, Hansard, Law Reform Commission Reports and case law.
British documents may be dated by "regnal" year (for example 55 Elizabeth II) meaning the year "of the reign".
Legislatures and Government Websites
- U.K. ParliamentIncludes links to House of Commons, House of Lords, Hansard, Bills and Committees
- Welsh GovernmentThe Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales.
Magna Carta
Magna Carta by Call Number: KF4485 .A3 B74 2002 c.1ISBN: 0712347437Publication Date: 2002-08-14Magna Carta is one of the celebrated documents in English history. This book explores the context in which Magna Carta was issued, discovers what it really meant to its creators and how it came to be an iconic document.
The law library collection contains many books and ebooks on the subject of Magna Carta.
Finding Legislation
Legislation is part of primary legal materials and includes Acts, Statutory Instruments, Orders in Council etc. The English Statutes are complete from Magna Carta to 2004 in two sets on the law library first floor (KD125 and KD129). Internet sources to find legislation include Parliament's website for Bills, government website or BAILII for Acts and the Westlaw database for U.K Bills and U.K. Statutes. For consolidated legislation, go to the government website.The government's website should have the most current legislation.
- legislation.gov.ukGovernment website.
- British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (BOPCRIS)Information from British Official Parliamentary Publications over the period 1688-1995.
- The Stationary Office (TSO) Official DocumentsOfficial Documents is the official reference facility for Command and departmentally sponsored House of Commons Papers. All Command Papers and House of Commons Papers published from May 2005 onwards, as well as key Departmental papers, are available for free on the site in PDF format.
- British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)Contain British and Irish case law, legislation and other materials (e.g. Law Commission Reports), and European case law
- VLexJustis This link opens in a new windowTo access database right click title and select 'open link in (in)private or incognito window'
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- LawlinksDesigned to help find your way around legal resources on the internet. University of Kent Library
- Scottish Law OnlineA web portal for lawyers, solicitors or advocates, academics, students or the public who are interested in Scots Law. The site is completely independent and is not associated with any University, Law Firm, the Law Society of Scotland or the Scottish Parliament.
- Hansard 1803 -2005This site has been produced from digitised editions of Commons and Lords Hansard, the Official Report of debates in Parliament. This was part of a project led by the Commons and Lords libraries.
- They Work For You.comKeeping tabs on the UK's parliaments & assemblies.
- Lexis+ Canada This link opens in a new window
- Available to Faculty of Law students only
- Password access only
- Westlaw Edge (UofC Law School only) This link opens in a new windowFaculty of Law students and faculty may obtain an individual password.
Secondary Sources
Start legal research with secondary sources, including encyclopedia, books and journal articles.
The U.K.'s legal encyclopedia is Halsbury's Laws of England (KD310 .H38) available in print on the 1st floor of the law library. Halsbury's Laws provides a brief introduction to the topic and includes laws, subject index, consolidated table of cases, consolidated table of statutes, consolidated index and supplement.
Use the library search box on the main library page to locate books. The leading U.K. publisher is Sweet and Maxwell.
- Halsbury's statutes of England and WalesCall Number: KD135 .H3ISBN: 0406214107Annotates statutes that are currently in force.
Located in law library 1st Floor. - Is it in force? ... : guide to the commencement of statutes of England and Wales and of ScotlandCall Number: KD142.6 .I8Located in law library reference collection.
- Current Law Legislation CitatorCall Number: KD296 .C8826ISBN: 9780414028029Statute citator and statutory instrument citator are used for "noting up".
Located in law library reference collection. - Public General Acts and MeasuresCall Number: KD125Current law in print.
Located in law library 1st Floor.
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
- Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Impact of U.K. law on Canadian Law
In Canadian law, U.K. law is only persuasive and the degree of persuasiveness is affected by statutory provision, court level, judge and/or facts.