Use this guide to learn more about sources and commentaries for UK jurisdictions (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), including e-books, e-journals and databases. The following legal databases provide access to case books, judgments, summaries and commentaries. Click i for more information about these resources. It is important to know how these sources of law are created and how they work in the legal system in England and Wales. It is important to be able to identify the sources of law and the order of precedence. These sources are hierarchical and organized in the following order: Legislation, often referred to as legal law, is the term applied to the written laws of a country. In the United Kingdom, legislation generally refers to Acts of Parliament, but in the broadest sense it also includes Acts enacted within the limits of the powers conferred by Acts of Parliament. Laws passed or codified by Parliament are constantly changing; You need to make sure that you are looking at the right version of the law for the research you are conducting. Before browsing the electronic resources, determine whether you are looking for the current (consolidated), historical (as passed) law, or law at a specific point in time. The version of the law you are looking for will influence your decision as to which database to choose for your research.
The main sources of law are the statements of the law itself. The main sources of law can be divided into two categories: legislation (laws, significant institutions and regulations) and case law (court decisions). This illustration is a diagram. The text in the central circle says “Sources of Law in England and Wales”. Outside this circle are six distinct circles that surround the central circle like the numbers of a clock. Starting with the first outer circle, positioned where the number 12 would appear on a clock, and moving clockwise, each of the six circles identifies a source of law as follows: European Convention on Human Rights, Welsh Assembly (Senedd), British Parliament, Common Law, European Union and historical sources. There is no database containing all UK legal material, but the 2 main databases are Westlaw Edge UK and LexisLibrary members OR can access both via their Oxford single sign-on details. For more information on this and a list of other useful electronic resources (including free resources), see the Database section in the left column or tab above for specific types of material. Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2009). BERR [Website].
Available from: [Accessed 6 March 2009] An image of a triangle. The triangle is symbolic because it represents the hierarchy of the three sources of law from top to bottom. On the right side of the triangle there are three boxes lying in a vertical position on top of each other. The text is written in each field. In the upper box is the text “European law”, in the middle box the text “United Kingdom legislation” and in the bottom box the text “Common law”. There are a number of important legal databases covering UK law. Below is a list of the most important databases or in the Legal Databases tab for more information and links to online tutorials. This course introduces you to one of the three main sources of law in England and Wales – statutory law, also known as legislation. The other two main sources of law are European (EU) law and case law. Figure 1 illustrates the sources of the law governing England and Wales. Contract law deals with the formation and interpretation (or “construction”) of written or oral agreements between companies or individuals.
A contract does not need to be written to be a binding contract. Contract disputes may concern whether or not a contract has been formed, what its various terms and conditions actually mean, whether a party has breached the contract and, if so, what relief (such as damages, injunctive relief or specific performance) should be ordered. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, with each branch having its own courts and procedures. [1] [2] [3] Below are books on legal research.