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Researching full text case law
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LawSource has an extensive collection of Canadian cases with excellent historical depth. It includes comprehensive coverage of case law from 1986, all reported cases from 1977, all cases in reporters published by Carswell, and a collection of other key cases. This collection is integrated with other content, such as KeyCite (judicial consideration), full text Canadian journals, the Canadian Abridgment Digests and classification scheme, and the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest. The collection also includes decisions of some administrative tribunals.
The Quicklaw core subscription has an extensive collection of Canadian cases. It includes comprehensive coverage of case law from 1986, all reported cases from 1970, all earlier cases that have been cited by the courts since 1970, and a collection of other key cases. This collection is integrated with other content, such as QuickCite (judicial consideration), full text Canadian and international journals, the Canada Digest collection for certain areas of law, and a topical classification scheme. The collection also includes decisions of many administrative tribunals.
CanLII is a free Internet service funded by the Canadian legal profession. It includes a comprehensive collection of Canadian cases from 2001, with coverage from most jurisdictions going back further. The SCC collection starts in 1967 and the BC collection starts in 1990. The collection also includes decisions of some administrative tribunals. Details regarding coverage are published in the Scope of Databases link on each CanLII page.
Searches of case law can also be done using a variety of other free and commercial services.
| BestCase is a subscription-based service that provides access to a comprehensive collection of unreported decisions from 1977, as well as cases reported in the Canadian Criminal Cases, Dominion Law Reports, and Labour Arbitration Cases. See the BestCase Quick Reference Guide for assistance in using this product. |
| Maritime Law Books has made its case law collection freely available for full text searching. Paid subscribers can access the value-added features. |
| Many Canadian courts publish decisions of the court shortly after they are released. The search engines on court sites are usually less sophisticated than those used by CanLII and the commercial publishers. However, the court site is generally the first place where recent decisions of the court are published. The CanLII page for each court contains a link to the Official Website for that court. Go to the jurisdiction, then select the court and look for the Official Website link. |
You can search topical collections of cases in many different ways.
| Subscribe to one of the topical products from WestlaweCARSWELL or Quicklaw. These will contain commentary and legislation as well as case law, enabling you to cover the essentials using one resource. |
| Review a text, encyclopedia or article dealing with the topic, for both commentary and references to relevant cases. |
| Restrict your search in Quicklaw using the Refine Search by Area of Law feature. |
| In Quicklaw, search the databases listed under a topic in the Source Directory. |
| Restrict your search in LawSource to a topical reporter or a subject area. |
| Restrict your search in LawSource using an Abridgment Case Digest classification or in Quicklaw using a Canada Digest classification. |
| In print, search the cumulative print indexes for a topical reporter or search the Abridgment Case Digests. |
This site includes a list of the many Canadian topical case collections and services available.
Making Good Choices: Canadian Electronic Research
Search Syntax for Canadian Legal Databases
