About This

Key to Link Icons

  • Georgetown restricted access
  • Interactive tutorial
  • On Westlaw
    (password required)
  • On Lexis
    (password required)
  • PDF Document

Key to Images

  • Study Aid - This is a useful resource to introduce or brush up on a new subject specialty.
  • Preeminent Treatise - This is recognized by scholars and practitioners as one of the leading authorities on a specific subject.

Canadian Legal Research Guide

Introduction

This research guide is intended as a starting point for researching Canadian law at the federal and provincial level. It includes both primary and secondary materials, in both print and electronic formats. 

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

Background Materials and General Sources

Below are some good starting points, but to locate more resources, search the online catalog (or try our NEW catalog interface) using keywords to narrow your search results. For example, <Canada laws> or <tort Canada>.

If you would like to browse our Canadian law collection, it is located on the upper level of the Wolff Library under call number KE. For a more complete list of books by legal subject, see Chapter 8 "Legal Research by Topic" in Legal Research & Writing (2004) by T. Tjaden.

  • Canadian Legal System (5th edition) INTL KE444 .G34 2004
    An accessible overview of the Canadian legal system, from the roles of judges and lawyers, to the British influence to hierarchy of both the Federal and provincial courts.
  • Introduction to the Study of Law (6th edition) INTL KE445 .W3 2004
    Presents the Canadian legal system, sources of the law and the difference between private and public law in the Canadian context.
  • Looking at Law : Canada's Legal System (5th edition) INTL KE444 .F5 2000
    A basic overview of Canada's legal system, with a review of the sources of Canadian law.
  • Legal Writing and Research Manual (6th edition) INTL REF KE250 .Y63 2004
    Written for the first year Canadian law student, an overview of Canadian legal materials as well as how research, write and cite in a legal memorandum in Canada.
  • Legal Research and Writing (2nd edition) INTL KE250.T53 2004
    An in depth focus on Canadian legal research for both the beginner and those who are familiar with the topic and need a more detailed discussion.
  • Canadian Encyclopedic Digest are actually two digests, the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest, Western covering the Western provinces and the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest Ontario covering Ontario. There are older print copies of the two encyclopedias respectively INTL KE 156.2 .C35 1979 and INTL KE O71 .C36 2008 at the Wolff library. The encyclopedias are organized by topics and access is usually through the general index located in the first volume. Researchers can use the "key" section which provide, access via statute section or via rules and regulations sections. Within each topic (called titles), there is commentary with cases, statutes, and regulations. Both encyclopedias provide information on federal Canadian law.
    These two encyclopedias are combined in Westlaw (Georgetown Law Only) in the CED (Georgetown Law Only) database. The "Table of Contents" is the most efficient way to locate commentary on cases, statutes, and regulations by topic for both for an individual province and at the federal level.

Constitution

Canada's constitutional history is unique due to a close relationship with the British crown. Unlike the United States, Canada's constitution is not written in one single document; rather it comprises a series of British and Canadian legislation. The Canadian constitution has most recently undergone changes in 1982 with the introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The print sources below are meant as a starting point for your research.

  • Canadian Constitutional Law INTL KE 4219 .C35 2010
    This in depth review of almost all constitutional law analysis, includes history, current debates and changes in the law, as well as detailed discussion of seminal cases.
  • B.W. Funston & E. Meehan, Canada's Constitutional Law in a Nutshell INTL KE4219.2.F86 1998
    An accessible and concise overview of major constitutional issues.
  • P. Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada INTL KE4219.H6 2006 (updated regularly)
    This loose leaf is updated annually and is organized around topical issues such as parliamentary sovereignty and delegation to criminal law to taxation
  • J. E. Magnet, Constitutional Law of Canada : Cases, Notes and Materials INTL KE4218.5.M34 2001
    This two volume set covers structure to legislative powers to problems of constitutionalism , with the second volume dedicated to a review of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • P.J. Monahan, Constitutional Law INTL KE4219.M66 2002

An overview of some of the constitutional documents is available online (from the Canadian Department of Justice). Another helpful online source for Canadian constitutional research is Constitution Acts 1867-1982.

Federal Statutes

Federal legislation is available free online, as well as through Lexis and Westlaw. The library also has current print copies of Canadian statutes. For background materials on Canadian legislation, consult the following treatises: How to Understand Statutes and By-Laws INTL KE482.S84 G54 1996 and Updating Statutes and Regulations for all Canadian Jurisdictions INTL REF KE250 .S54 1995.

  • Consolidated Statutes and Regulations (Dept. of Justice Canada)
    Contains side by side French and English versions of Canada's acts and regulations, if you scroll the bottom of the linked page they have listed some of the most frequently accessed laws with links to PDF versions as well as to the most current version.
  • Annual Federal Statutes (Dept. of Justice Canada)
    Covers 2002 - to within the last year, the most current version of enforce federal and state legislation as amended.
  • LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
    Links to bills currently in front of parliament.
  • Lexis [Legal > Find Laws by Country or Region > Canada > Legislation & Regulations > Federal > Consolidated Statutes of Canada]
  • Westlaw - Canadian Federal Statutes [CANFED-ST database]
  • Acts of the Parliament of Canada (updated regularly) INTL KE89 1951
    This is the official print version with side-by-side text of French and English.
  • Revised Statutes of Canada INTL KE89 1985
    Note that this official print edition is not updated; updating is easiest with electronic sources. You can also update using the print source listed below.
  • Canada Statutes Citator : R.S.C. 1985 (updated regularly) INTL KE106 .C35 1989
    In addition to updating statutes, you can track legislation and locate current and/or summaries of yet to be published cases related to federal legislation.
  • Canada Gazette, Part III INTL Media KE116 1867 Micro
    Statutes are initially published in Part III before appearing in the annual statutes volumes.
  • Table of Public Statutes ; Table of Acts and Responsible Ministers (updated regularly) (INTL KE106.5 .T33
    This is the history of all the amending/enacting legislation after an act became law, plus which minister is either responsible for the administration of the act and/or who introduced the act. Available online, please note you cannot directly click through to the materials listed, rather this best resource for a list what has happened to an act once it became law.

Provincial Statutes

Free access to provincial legislation is available through the office website of the individual provinces. Lexis and Westlaw also have selective coverage. Note that the library has discontinued its subscription to the statutes of certain provinces - electronic access is still available. Please note Lexis and Westlaw access are Georgetown Law only.

Federal Cases

The two main court systems in Canada are federal and provincial with the highest court being the Supreme Court of Canada. The Federal Court system is comprised of the Federal Court (trial level), the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. The provincial courts are organized into a superior court and an appellate court (usually known as the Court of Appeal) with appeals then heard in the Supreme Court.

The most useful publication for locating case law is the Canadian Abridgment it is available through Westlaw [ABRIDGMENT]and in print. This is a comprehensive digest which provides access to cases, unreported decisions, statutes and secondary literature. Coverage extends to federal and provincial materials with some exceptions. The Wolff library no longer updates the Abridgment, but it can be found at IINTL KE173. C25 2003. Using the Abridgment can be challenging to use and you may wish to consult the Canadian Abridgment Instruction Manual INTL KE173.B55 1991.

Federal case law is available on the internet, on Lexis (Georgetown Law Only) and Westlaw (Georgetown Law only), and in print in the library. Key sources are listed below.

  • CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute)
    This is a comprehensive web portal providing free online access to federal and provincial case law. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and other courts are included. Check the site for individual court coverage.
  • Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada
    Coverage from 1983 to the present. Some unreported decisions also available. There is an advanced search feature, allowing searching by keyword, party name, citation or docket number, judges or subjects.
  • Federal Court Decisions
    Coverage from 1989 to the present. The site includes a basic search feature.
  • Lexis
    Many individual databases available. [Legal > Find Laws by Country or Region > Foreign Laws & Legal Sources > Canada > Caselaw > Federal Legal]
  • Westlaw (Georgetown Law Only)
    Many individual databases available. [Directory > International/Worldwide Materials > North America > Individual Country Materials > Canada > Cases > Jurisdiction]
  • Canada Supreme Court Reports (S.C.R.) available in print
    The Supreme court is the highest court for both civil and criminal matters, this reporter has most of the published Supreme court cases in both English and French, with unpublished cases in English.
  • Also available on
  • Canada Federal Court Reports (F.C.) (1971 - 2003) INTL KE142 1971 and Federal Court Reports (2004 - present) INTL KE142 2004
    Reports cases from the Federal Court of Appeal and selected cases from the Federal Court Trial Division. Also available on
  • Dominion Law Reports (D.L.R.) INTL KE125.5 .D66
    Updated regularly select noteworthy cases for both criminal and civil matters throughout Canada, with some full text and summaries of cases.

Provincial Cases

Please note for Lexis and Westlaw access are Georgetown Law only, all other resource are freely available.

Regulations

Regulations are issued by official agencies or persons as enabled by statute. Canadian regulations are know as statutory orders and regulations (S.O.R.). The library does not collection provincial regulations in print; however these are available both freely on the web and though Lexis/Westlaw (Georgetown Law Only)

Federal Regulations

Provincial Regulations

Please note for Lexis and Westlaw access are Georgetown Law only, all other resource are freely available.

Journal Articles

Periodical literature is a good way to obtain background information, locate the text of a foreign law, a citation, or locate information about a subject. Westlaw and Lexis provide excellent coverage of U.S. law reviews, but you should consider expanding your journal research to foreign journals and indexes for more comprehensive and global coverage. For information on other journal databases, see our Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research for a complete list.

In addition, see our guide on Locating Journal Articles: Foreign & International, as there are foreign and international law journals databases linked to, as another way to research this topic in the foreign and international law context.

If you already have a citation and would like to read the article, simply type the journal name as a title search in the library catalog. The results will tell you if we have print, electronic, or both. Be sure to check coverage dates or volume numbers to determine if your particular volume or issue is available. If the library does not have the journal article, you may request the article through interlibrary loan and we will ask another library to make a photocopy.

Below are listed a few of the most commonly used resources for locating articles on Canadian law in the foreign and international law context.

  • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP) (Georgetown Law Only).
    A multilingual index to articles and book reviews appearing in approximately 490 legal journals published worldwide. Online access from 1985 to the present. Please note while this is not a full text database interlibrary loan can obtain many of the articles if a copy is not available at any of the Georgetown libraries. This is the best resource to search for foreign language legal journal articles.
  • Cambridge University Press Journals (Georgetown only)
    This full-text database offers both legal and non-legal journals published by Cambridge University. We suggest using advanced searching and you can limit by selecting "law" from the subject list. Titles include Cambridge Law Journal, Journal of African Law, World Trade Review, Legal Theory, and much more.
  • Oxford University Press (Georgetown only)
    Full-text database of both legal and non-legal journals published by Oxford University. You can limit to a particular journal or to the subject law. Journal titles include Chinese Journal of International Law, International Journal of Law and Information Technology, International Journal of Transitional Justice, American Law and Economics Review, and much more. Online access to many of the frequently-cited Oxford journals.

Below is a sampling of some of the journals, which focus on Canadian law, for back issues search in the library catalog using the title of the journal. Print versions are often available in the Wolff library.

Legal Dictionaries

Some Canadian legal terms and spelling differ from American terms. Consult the dictionaries below for more information.

Abbreviations & Acronyms

Canadian legal abbreviations can be a challenge to decipher. The sources below provide lists of abbreviations and the corresponding meaning. Next, use the library's catalog to see if the source is available in the library.

Other Research Guides

Want more information about Canadian law research? These other research guides may help.

  • Best Guide to Canadian Legal Research (University of British Columbia Faculty of Law)
    Links to Canadian legal resources online, a "Legal Research news" section which aggregates news from other Canadian legal research blogs and resources and an overview of how to approach legal research generally.
  • Canadian Legal Research (Duke Law)
    An overview of Canadian legal resources both in print and online, along with short explanations of the legal history of Quebec.
  • Researching Canadian Law (published Nov. 2005 GlobaLex) Please note there is a link to a 2007 update.
    In depth review of both legal resources (online and in print), with a brief section on how the civil system works in Quebec and how to research civil law in Canada.
  • Overview of Sources of Canadian Law on the Web (published Dec. 2003 LLRX)
    Annotated links for the major resources of Canadian law online, for both the state and federal level.

Revised 7/10 (ras)
Links 8/08 (ras)
Revised 4/07 (aeb)

Page last saved 23-Sep-2011