Researching Case Law

ICLR Online

ICLR Online is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in 1865 as the authorised publisher of the official series of The Law Reports for the Superior and Appellate Courts of England and Wales.

UK cases are often first published in The Weekly Law Report series and then they may be published in one of the official series of The Law Reports (such as Appeal Cases, Queens Bench, Kings Bench, Equity reports)

The Weekly Law Reports comprise 4 volumes:

1. Volume 1 cases cover procedural matters and points of law of general interest.
2. Volumes 2 and 3 cases are of greater long-term interest and are subsequently published in The Law Reports.
3. Volume 4 cases illustrate application of established rules and principles, summarise established rules and principles or articulate principles to guide judicial discretion. They are not available in print but can be accessed via ICLR Online.

Once a case is reported in one of the official series of The Law Reports you need to access that version.
 

Tip

AGLC4 rule 24.1.2 lists the UK authorised law report series and their citation abbreviations.
 

Case Example

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256

This is a landmark case in the UK (which is often considered in Australia) that established the test for formation of a contract.

In this example the name of the case is Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company. The authorised law report citation for this case is [1893] 1 QB 256.

Searching ICLR by citation

The quickest way to find a full text of a case on ICLR online is to search for it by citation.

1. Go to the ICLR Online homepage via the Deakin Library A-Z Databases
2. Select the Full Search button next to the search bar

3. Enter the case citation [1893] 1 QB 256 into the Citation/Reference field. Note: ICLR searching capability is very forgiving - it is not case sensitive. While the year in a case citation should be in brackets, you can leave them out and your search will still be successful.

4. From your results list, click on the link that matches the case citation.

5. To download the full text PDF of the case, click on the Download icon, then Download PDF.

6. To view what cases have subsequently considered this case, click on the Case Info button.

Searching ICLR by case name

If you only know the case name to a case, you can still find it without knowing the citation.

1. Go to the ICLR Online homepage via the Deakin Library A-Z Databases
2. Select the Full Search button next to the search bar

3. Enter the names of either one of the parties in the Case Name box. It is not necessary to include a party's full name. For example, entering Carlill AND Carbolic will locate the above case.
   Note: if you use the AND connector it must be in Capital letters in this database. Click on Search Help for more information.

4. Alternatively, you can enter the case name in the main search box. Possible matches will appear in a drop-down menu as you type the case name.

Downloading a ICLR case

The name of the case will take you to the case citator record, the citation search will take you to the PDF of the case itself.

1. To download the case, you need to click on the citation (eg. [1893] 1 QB 256).
2. From your results list, click on the link that matches the case citation.

3. To download the full text PDF of the case, click on the Download icon, then Download PDF.

View Cases or Legislation judicially considered

To view what cases have subsequently considered this case or to see what legislation or cases this case considered, click on the Case Info button.