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Legal Research Manual

This edition of Legal Research Manual builds on many previous editions. While the manual is designed principally for use with the first year legal research classes, upper year law students will also find it a useful reference.

Sources for UK Legislation

Sources for Older English Statutes

  • Index to the Statutes: 1235-1990
  • Chronological Table of Statutes: 1235-1991
    Online: partially available from HathiTrust
  • Statutes of the Realm (1225-1713).
    Online: available from HathiTrust and HeinOnline.
    In Print: shelved with English Legislative Material.
  • Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum (1642-1660).
    Online: British History Online
    In Print: Shelved with English Legislative Material.
  • Statutes at Large (Two sets of volumes cover the period from the Magna Carta to 1869).
    Online:HathiTrust
    In Print: Shelved with English Legislative Material
  • Legislation.gov.uk also holds a lot of legislation from the 1700s onward. See also this itemized list.

Sources for Modern Legislation

  • Legislation from 1988 to the present, plus many types of legislation from the 1700s onward, is freely available from legislation.gov.uk. See also an itemized list.
  • Current legislation is available from Lexis Advance Quicklaw Plus. Select the source called UK Parliament Acts. This source contains the full, amended text of all public general Acts that are currently in force. Legislation that has been recently enacted but is not yet in force is also included. Public general Acts that are no longer in force do not appear in full text but a note explains why the enactment no longer applies.
  • WestlawNext Canada has current legislation (individual law student subscriptions only).