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Law

Legal Research Guide

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Abbreviations: 
  • Help to find the full titles of law reports, courts, journal titles and commonly used legal terms.
  • Tip: Once you have found the full title of a law report or journal, search the Library's catalogue to verify that the Library holds it.

CaseBase - Australia and some international jurisdictions.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations - UK, Commonwealth, USA, and a selection of other jurisdictions.

FirstPoint Legal Abbreviations - Australia, UK and USA.

Abbreviations of Legal Publications - Australian and international.

Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations - USA only.

For more information about legal abbreviations see the Law Online Tutorial.

Case Law
Case Citators: 

CaseBase (via LexisNexis AU) Australian reported and unreported judgments and some international. CaseBase quick reference guide.

FirstPoint (via Westlaw AU) Australian case references, citations, history, and digest information. Westlaw AU Quickguide.

LawCite (via AustLII) Automated case citator for Australian and some international cases LawCite Help.

Australian and New Zealand citator to UK reports (via LexisNexis AU) UK cases considered by courts in Australia and New Zealand.

United Kingdom case law locator (via Westlaw International) UK and EU cases, citations, history, and digest information.

KeyCite (via Westlaw International) Citing references for cases and legislation in UK, US, and Canada. Cases only for Australia and Hong Kong.

Shepard's citations service (via Lexis.com) US cases only.

Tip: Case citators may provide you with the full text of the judgment - but not always!

More information: Case citators are a very useful legal research tool! Learn more about case citators on the Law Online Tutorial.

Australian Courts: 

Authorised Report Series

Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR)

Federal Court Reports (FCR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII Cth case law

Courts

Federal Court of Australia

Federal Circuit Court of Australia (formerly Federal Magistrates Court)

Family Court of Australia

High Court of Australia

Authorised Report Series

Queensland Reports (Qd R)

State Reports Queensland (St R Qld)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII Qld case law

Queensland Legal Indices Indexes Queensland judgments (click on the password link in the catalogue first before accessing)

Queensland Judgments via the Supreme Court of Queensland Library

Courts

Queensland Courts Court website including judgments

Industrial Court of Queensland Queensland Industrial Relations Commission

Land Court of Queensland Tribunal decisions

Obtaining Court Transcriptions

Authorised Report Series

Australian Capital Territory Law Reports (ACTLR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII ACT case law

Courts

ACT Law Courts & Tribunal

Authorised Report Series

New South Wales Law Reports (NSWLR)

New South Wales Reports (NSWR)

Weekly Notes (WN(NSW))

Unreported Judgments

AustLII NSW case law

Courts

Courts & Tribunals of New South Wales

Authorised Report Series

The Northern Territory Law Reports (NTLR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII NT Case law

Courts

Courts Northern Territory (Department of the Attorney-General & Justice)

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Court web site including judgments

Authorised Report Series

South Australian State Reports (SASR)

South Australian Law Reports (SALR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII SA case law

Courts

Courts Administration Authority

Authorised Report Series

Tasmanian Reports (Tas R)

Tasmanian State Reports (Tas SR)

Tasmanian Law Reports (TLR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII Tas case law

Courts

Supreme Court of Tasmania

Tasmanian Courts

Authorised Report Series

Victorian Reports (VR)

Victorian Law Reports (VLR)

Unreported Judgments

AustLII Vic case law

Judgments and Summaries via the Supreme Court of Queensland Library

Courts

Courts & Tribunal Victoria (Department of Justice)

Supreme Court of Victoria

Hansards
Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journal Articles: 

Australian Journal Indexes

AGIS Plus Text - comprehensive coverage of Australian legal journals; selected full text.

APA Full Text - Australian social and legal issues; selected full text.

Australian Full Text Databases

AustLII - selected Australian and New Zealand law journals freely available online

Westlaw AU - selected journals published by Thomson

LexisNexis AU - selected journals published by LexisNexis AU

International Journal Indexes

Legal Journals Index - indexes more than 400 journals from the UK and Europe

International Full Text Databases

Westlaw International

Lexis.com

HeinOnline

Learn about locating journal articles and creating effective search strategies on the Law Online Tutorial.

More Databases:

Review the full list of databases for law.

Legislation
Australia: 

Links to legislation and bills via Offices of Parliamentary Council are provided by jurisdiction below. Australian legislation and bills are also available for all jurisdictions via TimeBase LawOne. The Library subscribes to various point in time products.

ComLaw Federal Statutes, Legislative Instruments and Bills

Bills Parliament of Australia

Queensland Legislation Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel

Bills & Explanatory Notes

Tabled Papers Queensland Parliament

Queensland Local Laws

Queensland Historical Acts AustLII

Ozcase Queensland Historical Legal Collection

Legislation Office of Parliamentary Counsel

Subject Index to South Australian Legislation

South Australian Legal History Archive South Australian Acts and Ordinances 1837 - 2002

International: 

For more information about legislation consult the Legislation Module of the Law Online Tutorial.

More Databases:

Review the full list of databases for law.

News
News: 

Factiva Search the full text of hundreds of newspapers from Australia and around the world. Full text is usually available back to the 1990s. No images or full-page views.

Press Display Shows page layout views of newspapers, showing the stories exactly as published. Only the last 60 days of publication available.

Informit TVNews Videoclips of news broadcasts from Australian television stations from 2007 onwards.

For more information see the Law Online Tutorial and the News and Newspapers "How-to Guide"

Related Guides
Specialised Resources
Specialised Resources: 

Looseleaf Resources

Looseleaf services (known online as 'commentaries') are specialist resources relied upon by professional practitioners. They offer current information (eg. legislation, cases), provide commentary and analysis on specific areas of law and are updated regularly. To locate a looseleaf service, do a keyword search of the Library catalogue incorporating the word looseleaf into your search.

Law Reform Commission Reports

Law reform commission reports are based on extensive research. They comprehensively analyse the present law and make law reform proposals on areas on law in need of reform.

Celebrating International Women's Day: March 1945 Queenslands First Female Juror

From the State Library of Queensland Blog

On 1 March 1945 Queensland's first female juror was empanelled at Brisbane's Supreme Court. Nellie Bishop, a housewife from Kelvin Grove who had never before been inside a courtroom, was thrust into the media spotlight. "I was scared stiff" she told a reporter from The Courier Mail

Contract Law

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Encyclopaedias: 

Laws of Australia, titles 7-8 - Contract: General Principles; Contracts: Specific

Halsbury's laws of Australia, vol 6, title 110 - Contract

Reference Books:

Principles of Contract Law / Paterson, Robertson and Duke (Law Book Co, 4th ed., 2012)

Contract Law In Australia / J. W. Carter (LexisNexis Butterworths, 6th ed., 2013)

Contract Law / Willmott, Christensen, Butler and Dixon (Oxford University Press, 4th ed., 2013)

Handbooks: 

Carter on contract - This is an online looseleaf which is a separate publication to Carter's Contract Law in Australia (the recommended student text as above); it has a very similar structure, but includes more detailed commentary relevant to practitioners.

The Queensland law handbook: your practical guide to the law, 11th ed, chapter 5

How-to Guides: 

Legal Research Guide

Browsing the Shelves

You can also browse the catalogue or the shelves at the following call numbers:

KD1554 Contracts

KU810 Contracts - Australia

Contact Librarians

Angela Allen / Rebecca Carter

bel@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3553

Help for Researchers & Postgraduate Students

Thomas Palmer

t.palmer@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3693

Help for Undergraduate students

Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Specialised Resources

New Legal Research Guide!

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The Library has published a new Legal Research Guide for the start of Semester 1, 2013!

For those students who have never used our Legal Research Guide, this is where you can access:

  • Legal encyclopaedias and dictionaries
  • Australian and international case law
  • Legislation
  • Hansard and parliamentary documents
  • Key databases for legal information

You can access the Guide using the link below, or via the Walter Harrison Law Library homepage. Don't forget to bookmark it while you are there!

Insight: Getting Away with Murder

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Criminal Law

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Dictionaries: 

Australian law dictionary

Butterworths Australian criminal law dictionary

Butterworths concise Australian legal dictionary, 3rd ed

Encyclopdaedic Australian legal dictionary

Contact Librarians

Angela Allen / Rebecca Carter

bel@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3553

Help for Researchers & Postgraduate Students

Thomas Palmer

t.palmer@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3693

Help for Undergraduate students

Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journals
Journals: 
Specialised Resources
Web Sites

Native Title Law

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Handbooks: 
Dictionaries: 

Butterworths concise Australian legal dictionary

Butterworths encyclopdaedic Australian legal dictionary

Legal terms

Browsing the Shelves

You can also browse the catalogue or the shelves at the following call numbers:

DU 120 Native Title - Australia
KU 659 Land tenure - Australia
KU 2562 Mabo or Wik

Contact Librarians

Angela Allen / Rebecca Carter

bel@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3553

Help for Researchers & Postgraduate Students

Thomas Palmer

t.palmer@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3693

Help for Undergraduate students

Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journals
Specialised Resources
Web Sites

Law, Mooting and Advocacy

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journals
Journals: 
Multimedia
Specialised Resources
Web Sites

Media Law

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Dictionaries: 

Butterworths concise Australian legal dictionary, 3rd ed

Encyclopaedic Australian legal dictionary

Contact Librarians

Angela Allen / Rebecca Carter

bel@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3553

Help for Researchers & Postgraduate Students

Thomas Palmer

t.palmer@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3693

Help for Undergraduate students

Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journals
News
News: 

Factiva Search the full text of hundreds of newspapers from Australia and around the world. Full text is usually available back to the 1990s. No images or full-page views.

Press Display Shows page layout views of newspapers, showing the stories exactly as published. Only the last 60 days of publication available.

Informit TVNews Videoclips of news broadcasts from Australian television stations from 2007 onwards.

Specialised Resources
Web Sites

International Law

Getting Started

If you are not sure what your topic is about, try one or more of the following:

Dictionaries: 

Black's Law Dictionary

Dictionary of international and comparative law

International law : a dictionary

Parry and Grant encyclopaedic dictionary of international law

Browsing the Shelves

You can also browse the catalogue or the shelves at the following call numbers:

  • K1150-K1231 Maritime Law
  • KZ1165-KZ1208 Trials. War crime trials.
  • KZ1249-KZ1252 International Law and other Disciplines
  • KZ1298-KZ1304 Law of Treaties
  • KZ4850-KZ5490 Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs)
  • KZ3670-KZ3881 Objects of the laws of nations. Territory and its different parts.
  • KZ5510-KZ6299 International law of peace and peace enforcement

Contact Librarians

Angela Allen / Rebecca Carter

bel@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3553

Help for Researchers & Postgraduate Students

Thomas Palmer

t.palmer@library.uq.edu.au

3346 3693

Help for Undergraduate students

Case Law
Journal Articles

For recent information, journal articles are often the best sources. Looking through individual journals in the hope of finding relevant material is time-consuming. It is better to use the databases to find articles on your topic.

Journal Articles: 

Lexis.com
• International Law Review Articles (access via the International Law sub-tab on Lexis.com)

Westlaw International
• Combined World Journals and Law Reviews via Westlaw International
Legal Journals Index

HeinOnline
Foreign and International Law Resources Database
Law Journal Library
Kluwer Law International Journal Library

Browse all library databases for Law

Journals
Primary Materials
Related Guides
Related Guides: 

Legal Research Guide University of Queensland Library

Electronic Resource Guide American Society of International Law

Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) American Society of International Law

ILS Web Resources Foreign & International Law Resources: An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World - Harvard Law School Library

Public International Law WorldLII

Researching International Law White and Case Jessup Guide

Specialised Resources
Web Sites