LibGuides: Law: UK Law

The resources provided here mainly provide access to UK primary sources of law. In the UK, this tends to relate to case law and legislation.

Lexis+ UK
This new interface heralds a "new era in legal intelligence". Lexis+ UK is primarily a legal database providing full-text access to case law, journal articles, legislation and commentary from a range of courts and jurisdictions, with unique access to Halsbury’s Laws of England and the All England Law Reports. Content includes the UK, Europe and the USA with additional international content covering the Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand).
Westlaw UK (including Westlaw Edge UK) This link opens in a new window
Westlaw UK is one of the leading online legal information services combining up-to-date legal information from the UK, Europe and the United States. It covers cases, legislation, European Union and journals. We also have access to Thomson Reuters Westlaw (Westlaw International), which covers international materials and an extensive collection of law journals.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Use the Cardiff Index to check you are using the correct legal abbreviation for journals and case reports from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States, including those covering international and comparative law.
Halsbury's Laws of England
Halsbury's Laws of England provides the only comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales, covering every proposition of English law. The product is divided into alphabetically arranged titles, making it convenient to use and enabling quick and easy research into any area of law. The text of the titles is supplemented by regularly updated annotations: all primary and secondary legislation, all leading law reports, and many specialist series of case reports are monitored for developments which affect the law as set out in Halsbury's Laws.

Westlaw UK (including Westlaw Edge UK) This link opens in a new window
Westlaw UK is one of the leading online legal information services combining up-to-date legal information from the UK, Europe and the United States. It covers cases, legislation, European Union and journals. We also have access to Thomson Reuters Westlaw (Westlaw International), which covers international materials and an extensive collection of law journals.
Lexis+ UK
This new interface heralds a "new era in legal intelligence". Lexis+ UK is primarily a legal database providing full-text access to case law, journal articles, legislation and commentary from a range of courts and jurisdictions, with unique access to Halsbury’s Laws of England and the All England Law Reports. Content includes the UK, Europe and the USA with additional international content covering the Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand).
Find Case Law
Delivered by The National Archives, Find Case Law provides public access to court judgments and tribunal decisions.
As of April 2022; The National Archives receives selected Court Judgments and Tribunal Decisions for permanent preservation and publication on the Find Case Law service. Currently they receive judgments from the Privy Council, the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, The High Court, the Upper Tribunals and The Employment Appeal Tribunal. They also receive decisions from some first-tier tribunal chambers and some judgments from the family court. Judgments given prior to 19 April 2022 have been sourced by The National Archives from a variety of different sources, including BAILII (www.bailii.org).

British and Irish Legal Information Institute - BAILII
Free access to British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
UK Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.
UK Supreme Court Decided Cases
Contains decided cases from 1st August 2009. For judgments handed down before 31 July 2009 refer to the House of Lords or BAILII websites.
Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals.
High Court of England and Wales
The High Court of England and Wales is the third highest court in the UK and deals with civil cases and appeals of decisions made in lower courts. It consists of three divisions; the Queen's Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division. Its name is abbreviated to EWHC.
Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) decisions
Full-text of decisions on appeal to the UTIAC.

Law Reports

ICLR This link opens in a new window
Established in 1865, the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR) is the authorised publisher of the official and most authoritative law reports in England and Wales. The Law Reports are available in the Law Library; Westlaw UK and Lexis+ UK currently offer access to the official series. The Law Reports are the authoritative source for published reports of cases that constitute binding precedents in English Law.

Weekly Law Reports
Published since 1953, the Weekly Law Reports are the most comprehensive and up to date general series of reports for England and Wales. Covering around 280 cases a year, The WLR publish more cases than any other general series of reports. Volume 1 cases cover procedural matters and points of law of general interest. Volumes 2 and 3 contain cases which are of greater long term significance.
All England Law Reports
The All England Law Reports is a significant general law report series of cases from 1936 to date. This series comprises judgments with headnotes and catchwords from the Supreme Court, the Privy Council, both divisions of the Court of Appeal and all divisions of the High Court.
English Reports (HeinOnline)
HeinOnline’s English Reports database delivers exact page images of the original bound reprint edition of The English Reports, a collection of judgments of the higher English Courts between 1220 and 1866. This includes the English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1867) and English Law Reports: Pre-1865.

Westlaw UK (including Westlaw Edge UK) This link opens in a new window
Westlaw UK is one of the leading online legal information services combining up-to-date legal information from the UK, Europe and the United States. It covers cases, legislation, European Union and journals. We also have access to Thomson Reuters Westlaw (Westlaw International), which covers international materials and an extensive collection of law journals.
Lexis+ UK
This new interface heralds a "new era in legal intelligence". Lexis+ UK is primarily a legal database providing full-text access to case law, journal articles, legislation and commentary from a range of courts and jurisdictions, with unique access to Halsbury’s Laws of England and the All England Law Reports. Content includes the UK, Europe and the USA with additional international content covering the Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand).
legislation.gov.uk This link opens in a new window
legislation.gov.uk includes the original (as enacted) and revised editions of the primary legislation of the United Kingdom. These statutes are published by and under the authority of the Controller of HMSO (in his capacity as The Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament, and Government Printer of Northern Ireland) and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. It includes the full-text of Acts of Parliament from 1267 to date.

British and Irish Legal Information Institute - BAILII
Free access to British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
Halsbury's Laws of England
Halsbury's Laws of England provides the only comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales, covering every proposition of English law. The product is divided into alphabetically arranged titles, making it convenient to use and enabling quick and easy research into any area of law. The text of the titles is supplemented by regularly updated annotations: all primary and secondary legislation, all leading law reports, and many specialist series of case reports are monitored for developments which affect the law as set out in Halsbury's Laws.

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
A fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.
The Publications of The Selden Society
The Selden Society is the only learned society and publisher devoted entirely to English legal history.
Selden Society Publications and the History of Early English Law
This resource includes the Selden Society Publications and more than 220 English Legal History Classics including abridgments, digests and dictionaries. It also provides access to early English case law and links to other online publications in early English history.

Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Contains digital facsimile page images of almost every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America, and works in English printed elsewhere from 1470-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
State Papers Online, 1509-1782 This link opens in a new window
Papers of the Secretaries of State from the reign of Henry VIII to the end of the reign of Queen Anne, cross-referenced with the calendars (catalogues) to aid searching. Covering a wide range of documents, subjects, and importance, they concern internal English/British affairs and administration of the country, and foreign affairs, marriage alliances, treaties and wars.
State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century (1714-1782) This link opens in a new window
This completes the State Papers Collection, covering the 18th century from the accession of the Hanoverian monarchs to the British throne in 1714 to the end of the State Papers series in 1782.
UK Parliamentary Papers 1688-2003/4 This link opens in a new window
Online archive of the sessional papers of the British House of Commons from 1715 to present, and the 19th Century House of Lords. It covers working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic and foreign policy.
Early material includes the following:
• Harper Collection of Private Bills (1695-1814)
• Local and Personal Acts (1797-1834)
• Private Acts (1702-1727) and Private Bills (1727-1814)
• Private Acts (1815-18340
• Parliamentary Register (1774-1780,1796-1802,1802-1805)
• The History and Proceedings of the House of Commons (1660-1743)
• The History and Proceedings of the House of Lords (1660-1742)
• General Index to the Journals of the House of Lords (1660-1854)
• Journals of the House of Commons (1688-1834)
• Journals of the House of Lords (1688-1834)
• House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth Century (1715-1800)
• House of Lords Sessional Papers (1714-1805)
• Reports from the Committees of the House of Commons (1715-1801)

Subject support guide

Law

Law Reports