Law resources

• Westlaw Australia
• Lexis Advance
• AustLII

Case law

• Find that Case@Flinders
• AustLII
• Jade
• CaseBase Cases
• Case law guide
• Westlaw Australia
  

Legislation

• Federal Register of Legislation
• SA Legislation
• LawOne (via TimeBase)
• Legislation Guide
  

• Australian Guide to Legal Citation
• Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary
• Halsbury’s Laws of Australia (Lexis Advance)
  
• Laws of Australia (Westlaw Australia)
  
• AGIS Plus Text

Find a case where you have the full citation details

Find that Case@Flinders

Use Find that Case@Flinders to search for any case law abbreviation – it covers both law reports and medium neutral citations.

It will tell you what the abbreviation stands for, plus give you:

• A link to the resource online
• Directions as to where you can find the resource in the Law Library

• CaseBase Cases
• Westlaw Australia Cases

Full-text cases

Use then when you know what database provides the access to a case you need, or when you want to search over the full-text of judgments.

Remember, it is preferable to cite to authorised reports where possible.

Unreported judgments

• AustLII
• Jade

• Westlaw Australia
  
• Lexis Advance

Referencing

Australian Guide to Legal Citation
Online, 4^th ed, 2018.

Abbreviations

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
A comprehensive index to abbreviations of Australian and international legal resources.

Find that Case@Flinders
Use Find that Case@Flinders to search for any case law abbreviation – it covers both law reports and medium neutral citations.

It will tell you what the abbreviation stands for, plus give you:

• A link to the resource online
• Directions as to where you can find the resource in the Law Library

Australian legal dictionaries - for definitions of legal terms

Legal dictionaries are a useful starting point for your research – they give you a short definition of a legal term, point you to key primary sources, and help you understand the area of law the topic fits within and find related terminology and issues.

You can find a range of legal dictionaries in the Law Library at KL40. Some are also available online – the below is the most comprehensive.

Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary
Online, updated periodically.

Legal words and phrases - for legal definitions

These resources point you to primary sources where words and phrases have been legally defined.

Australian Legal Words and Phrases
Online, updated periodically.

English dictionaries - for general definitions

These dictionaries are the most cited within Australian judgments.

Oxford English Dictionary

Macquarie Dictionary

Australian legal encyclopaedias

• Halsbury’s Laws of Australia (Lexis Advance)
  
• Laws of Australia (Westlaw Australia)
  
• Law Handbook
• Legal Services Commission of South Australia

• Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law
  

Books cover broad areas of law and are useful to help understand the legal principles of an area of law and how they might apply in different situations.

Use findit@flinders to search for books and ebooks.

Books in the Law Library are organised differently to the rest of the Library. They are arranged according to the Moys classification system, developed specifically for legal materials. Below are the location numbers for some core topics in law.

Commentary services are practitioner resources that cover a specific area of law, providing the key information that practicing lawyers need to know.  

Each of the platforms below provide a range of commentary services on different legal topics.

Please check each for relevant titles.

CCH IntelliConnect

Lexis Advance

1.       Use the main search box

2.       From the results, select to view ‘AU Secondary Materials’

3.       Select the content type ‘Commentary’

Westlaw Australia

• To search all titles, run your search and filter to the "Publication type" of "Commentary".

Australian law journal databases

AGIS – Attorney-General’s Information Service (Informit)

The best resource to find information on any legal issue in Australia. It searches over 120 Australian law journals, as well as some international law journals, reports, book chapters, and conference papers.

Australian Public Affairs (Informit)

Useful when researching legal issues that overlap with policy and social sciences.

International law databases

HeinOnline Journals

Full-text of over 2400 US and international law journals.

Westlaw International Materials

Click on "Journals" under "Content Types".

Multidisciplinary databases

findit@flinders
Google Scholar
Proquest

Law reform commissions are appointed by governments to review the law in specific areas and recommend reforms. These commissions

• publish issues papers
• seek public input (known as submissions) and consult with stakeholders
• release discussion papers
• seek further submissions and consult further with stakeholders
• provide a full report to the relevant minister

Law reform publications are very informative and an excellent source to:

• learn of new and developing areas of law
• find an in-depth analysis of a legal issue, legal principle, or aspect of the legal system

• Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC)
• South Australian Law Reform Institute
• Other Australian law reform agencies
  (List from ALRC)

Other sources of law reform publications

• AustLII (Contains reports and papers from most Australian law reform commissions.)
• AGIS – Attorney-General’s Information Service (Informit)
• findit@flinders
  Many older law reform papers and reports are held in the Law Library and can be found by searching findit@flinders. Include the phrase “law reform” in your search.

Information about researching laws from other countries

These websites provide useful information including:

• The legal system of the country
• Where to find the laws of the country, including if they are free and in English

Globalex – Foreign Law Research

LLRX.com – Comparative and Foreign Law

Wikipedia

Search for the country + “legal system”

Another useful resource are legal research guides from the jurisdiction you are interested in. Simply search Google for the country + “libguide”.

Primary and secondary sources

• WorldLII
• Westlaw International Materials
• HeinOnline Journals
• Westlaw UK
  
• EUR-Lex

• United Nations
• International Law Commission
• Oxford Public International Law
  

• United Nations Treaty Series
• League of Nations Treaty Series (1919-1945)
• Australian Treaties Database
• International Treaties Collection

• International Court of Justice
• Permanent Court of International Justice
• International Criminal Court
• List of other courts and tribunals

• International Courts and Tribunals Collection (WorldLII)

Secondary sources

• Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law
  A continuously updated encyclopedia containing peer-reviewed articles on every aspect of public international law. Written and edited by an incomparable team of over 800 scholars and practitioners, published in partnership with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and updated throughout the year.
• Halsbury’s Laws of Australia (Lexis Advance)
  Includes chapters on: civil and political rights, foreign relations, maritime law.
• Laws of Australia (Westlaw Australia)
  Includes chapters on: human rights, international trade.

The Library also holds a range of books and ebooks on international law.

You can search findit@flinders, or browse the following location numbers for relevant titles.