Case Law Search Protocol

54and56

Hi all,

I want to use sources like http://www.ucc.ie/law/newirlii/index.php and http://www.bailii.org to search for details on cases referred to in research documents I am reading but I'm finding it very hard to understand the search protocol and am looking for some help.

For example, I constantly see cases referred to as "McA v McA [2001] IR 457" or "Re Murphs Restaurant [1979] I.L.R.M. 141 (H.C.)"

My reading of "McA v McA [2001] IR 457" is that the applicant was McA, the respondent was McA and the case was determined in 2001 but I'v no idea what "IR 457" refers to.

Similarly with "Re Murphs Restaurant [1979] I.L.R.M. 141 (H.C.)" I read it as the title of the case being "Murphs Restaurant" and it was determined in 1979 but I've no idea what I.L.R.M. 141 means and I'm assuming (H.C.) means High Court.

Is there a protocol somewhere which I can use to decipher these references so I can search more effectively for the published detail of the respective case or an explanation of the various acronyms etc?

johnnyskeleton

There are companies that edit and summarise cases and publish them in periodical reports. Irish Reports (I.R.) and Irish Law Reports Monthly (I.L.R....well you get the idea). If looking on baili, the year in brackets eg. [2001] is the year of the volume of reports, not the year of the case. He case itself could be 2000 or before.

As to figuring them out, justcite usually has explanations but youve to pay for that, as do a lot of legal textbooks. You can always google e.g. "I.R. reports" to get a good answer

54and56

Thanks Johnny. I naively thought court records would be publicly available and searchable online

I just came across these guys http://www.staredecisishibernia.com who seem to be offering a searchable database of cases but they don't publish their subscription rates online you have to apply which seems weird.

Anyone got any idea what they annual membership would be for single user access?

MarkAnthony

http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/

Grolschevik

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thanks Johnny. I naively thought court records would be publicly available and searchable online

They mostly are (at least after a certain year): http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/frmJudgmentsByYearAll?OpenForm&l=en

It's not the most user-friendly search if all you've got to go on is the IR or IRLM reference. If you have the name and the date and the court it was heard in, however, it's straightforward enough.

IEHC = High Court, IESC = Supreme Court etc. So this judgment, for example (http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/597645521f07ac9a80256ef30048ca52/26601128ef83f48c80257ed10041049c?OpenDocument) has a "neutral citation" of [2015] IEHC 588.

Also, there are some seminal/important judgments listed here: http://www.supremecourt.ie/SupremeCourt/sclibrary3.nsf/pagecurrent/9FA0AA8E8D261FC48025765C0042F6B3?opendocument&l=en

54and56

Grolschevik wrote: »

IEHC = High Court, IESC = Supreme Court etc. So this judgment, for example (http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/597645521f07ac9a80256ef30048ca52/26601128ef83f48c80257ed10041049c?OpenDocument) has a "neutral citation" of [2015] IEHC 588.

Thanks Grolschevik, that's very helpful. I know there is a key to unlocking these abbreviations and acronyms which in turn will enable me to search more accurately. Here is a useful resource for unlocking abbreviations I just found - http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

I don't quite understand what "neutral citation" means. Having looked it up here http://liv.ac.uk.libanswers.com/faq/49340 my interpretation is that the case is reference-able without having to access a paid reporting service. Am I even close??

MarkAnthony

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thanks Grolschevik, that's very helpful. I know there is a key to unlocking these abbreviations and acronyms which in turn will enable me to search more accurately. Here is a useful resource for unlocking abbreviations I just found - http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

I don't quite understand what "neutral citation" means. Having looked it up here http://liv.ac.uk.libanswers.com/faq/49340 my interpretation is that the case is reference-able without having to access a paid reporting service. Am I even close??

You fond it from my post above perhaps :P

Neutral citation means a non paid for source.

IE (Ireland) SC (Supreme Court) EW = England and Wales HL = House of Lords. You probably see the pattern. :P Edit for Clarity it's UKHL

IR = Irish Reports

ILRM = Irish Law Reports Monthly

54and56

MarkAnthony wrote: »

http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/

Thanks Mark, hadn't seen your post but found the same resource somehow. Appreciate it.

54and56

MarkAnthony wrote: »

You fond it from my post above perhaps :P

Neutral citation means a non paid for source.

IE (Ireland) SC (Supreme Court) EW = England and Wales HL = House of Lords. You probably see the pattern. :P Edit for Clarity it's UKHL

IR = Irish Reports

ILRM = Irish Law Reports Monthly

Brilliant, I promise I hadn't seen your earlier post!!! I'm going to bookmark this thread as I think it supplies me with ton's of helpful info.

Cheers all.

MarkAnthony

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Brilliant, I promise I hadn't seen your earlier post!!! I'm going to bookmark this thread as I think it supplies me with ton's of helpful info.

Cheers all.

I'm just messing. Best of luck with it all!

54and56

Last question. Bearing all the above in mind how can I find "BD v JD [2004] IESC 1" using the aforementioned references? I've tried and failed. Perhaps the case is not reported because it is a lower court or family court? (It's possibly family court) But then it's IESC which is Supreme Court and I've searched that Database without success :-(

MarkAnthony

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Last question. Bearing all the above in mind how can I find "BD v JD [2004] IESC 1" using the aforementioned references? I've tried and failed. Perhaps the case is not reported because it is a lower court or family court? (It's possibly family court) But then it's IESC which is Supreme Court and I've searched that Database without success :-(

Your citation looks truncated - A.G. v. Dyer [2004] IESC 1 (16 January 2004) is that citation. The numbers were traditionally the page number, what they are in a neutral citation is beyond me.

Ah sorry to answer your question id search by citation and use [2004] IESC 1

Grolschevik

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Last question. Bearing all the above in mind how can I find "BD v JD [2004] IESC 1" using the aforementioned references? I've tried and failed. Perhaps the case is not reported because it is a lower court or family court? (It's possibly family court) But then it's IESC which is Supreme Court and I've searched that Database without success :-(

Or look up Courts.ie. They are generally numbered sequentially, so IESC 1 would be one of the first judgments that year.

http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/597645521f07ac9a80256ef30048ca52/d1b806e93000ada180256e2400578235?OpenDocument

54and56

Wow, this is a difficult area to get my head around.

I was reading the case you found Grolschevik and it bore no resemblance to what I expected the content of the case to be about.

I then did a general Google search which led me to a reference "B.D. v J.D. [2005] IEHC 407 McKechnie J" which led me to a Supreme Court appeal - http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IESC/2004/101.html which does relate to the case I expected to research.

I guess it's not an exact science and I just have to be aware that the citation may be either incomplete or somehow different enough to make a straight forward search difficult.

Now all I have to do is find and review the original case before reading the appeal!!

54and56

Got it. Searched the Bailii IEHC database by the Judges name, ranked them by year, zoomed in on 2003 and hey presto, there it was - http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IEHC/2003/106.html

If at first......and all that

Thanks guys, you've been both helpful and patient.

Every day is a school day.

Grolschevik

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Wow, this is a difficult area to get my head around.

I was reading the case you found Grolschevik and it bore no resemblance to what I expected the content of the case to be about.

I then did a general Google search which led me to a reference "B.D. v J.D. [2005] IEHC 407 McKechnie J" which led me to a Supreme Court appeal - http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IESC/2004/101.html which does relate to the case I expected to research.

I guess it's not an exact science and I just have to be aware that the citation may be either incomplete or somehow different enough to make a straight forward search difficult.

Now all I have to do is find and review the original case before reading the appeal!!

Also, clerical errors are rife all over the shop...