Court system
When starting legal research it can be helpful to review relevant systems. The Department of Justice provides a concise overview of Canada's judicial system. Understanding the court system is also essential for case law research and is summarized by the Department of Justice overview of Canada's Court Systems and the Canadian Judicial Council overview of the Division of Powers. As courts have changed names over time, this chart of court names by jurisdiction can be useful when researching historic cases.
Go to Databases
Three go to databases for finding case law are:
- WestlawNext Canada This link opens in a new windowAccess to WestlawNext is available to all TMU Library users through an institutional login. To access additional content, JD students and LPP candidates can create an individual password login by contacting the vendor. In addition to providing broad primary and secondary source legal research coverage, WestlawNext also contains specialized resources, including CriminalSource, LabourSource, and LawSource.
- LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new windowAccess to Lexis Advance Quicklaw is available to all TMU Library users through an institutional login. To access additional features, such as saved item folders, JD students and LPP candidates can create an individual password login by contacting the vendor. Quicklaw is a Canadian online legal information system that provides full text of Canadian and foreign case law, federal and provincial legislation and regulations, case reports, digests, tribunal decisions, and statutes, as well as secondary materials such as law journals and newsletters.
- CanLIICanLII is a publicly available website of Canadian legal information. It includes case law, statutes and regulations, tribunal decisions, and secondary source commentary.
How to Write a Case Citation
Federal
- LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- LawSource This link opens in a new window
- CCH AnswerConnect This link opens in a new window
Ontario
- LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- LawSource This link opens in a new window
- LabourSource This link opens in a new windowOur subscription to LabourSource, previously known as Labour Spectrum Essential, includes the full text of Brown & Beatty Canadian Labour Arbitration and the full text of cases from Labour Arbitration Cases (1st series to current).
Please note that if you encounter the “Access Denied” message, this means you are trying to access content outside our subscription. - CCH AnswerConnect This link opens in a new window
Provinces
- LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new window
- CCH AnswerConnect This link opens in a new window
- LawSource This link opens in a new window
- LabourSource This link opens in a new windowOur subscription to LabourSource, previously known as Labour Spectrum Essential, includes the full text of Brown & Beatty Canadian Labour Arbitration and the full text of cases from Labour Arbitration Cases (1st series to current).
Please note that if you encounter the “Access Denied” message, this means you are trying to access content outside our subscription.
Digests
Case digests provide summaries of cases as well as classifications, which make it easy to gain an overview of the case and find related cases.
- Canadian Abridgment DigestsThe Canadian Abridgment is a comprehensive collection of over 1,000,000 digests of Canadian case law. It is organized by legal issue and other options. For a LawSource user guide select the link, A Short Guide to the Canadian Abridgment.
- Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED)Searchable in LawSource, the CED gives an overview of legal topics as well as context to cases and legislation relevant to legal issues. Content includes summaries of legislation and leading cases.
- LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw This link opens in a new windowThe Canada Digest is a group source, searchable in the Quicklaw database. It contains summaries of cases from all Canadian jurisdictions including Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and various federal and provincial administrative boards. Access additional digests in Quicklaw by selecting the Source Directory tab.