Conducted by: Carol Wee Contents by: Bissy & Su-Lin

Conducted by: Carol Wee

Contents by: Bissy & Su-Lin

Library collection

Secondary resources

Electronic resources

C J Koh Law Library home page

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The C J Koh Law Library has a rich collection of local, foreign and international legal resources.

The library’s traditional strength is in the common law. Apart from a comprehensive collection of Singapore legal materials, the library also has extensive collections of legal resources from Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The library has developed collections on comparative and international law, international trade law as well as the laws of the European Community.

The library’s print collection is bolstered by subscriptions to online legal resources which are available via the NUS Libraries Portal http://libportal.nus.edu.sg/. Major databases include HeinOnline, Justis and LexisNexis.

Secondary sources are publications which refer and relate to thelaw, but are not themselves sources of law. These include:1. Textbooks, casebooks, etc.2. Legal encyclopaedias3. Legal periodicals4. Research literature. E.g. Theses5. Reference works. E.g. Dictionaries, directories,

bibliographies, digests, citators, indexes, etc.

Secondary sources assist in locating relevant primary sources of lawassist in the interpretation of relevant primary sources.

Secondary sources are important: In legal research, referring to a secondary source is often

the first step in the learning the basics of a particular area of law;

Thorough legal research requires the use of the various categories of secondary sources;

Secondary sources may be cited in court in support of a particular proposition in law - a court may not be bound by secondary authorities, but books or articles written by eminent authors of reputable standing may have significant persuasive value in selecting between conflicting authorities (see guidelines in Citation of Secondary Authorities in Court, Supreme Court Registrar’s Circular, No.3 of 2004, s.2(b), online: Registrar’s Circulars http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/data/doc/ManagePage/99/2004-3.pdf).

1. Textbooks, Casebooks, etc.(a) Textbooks – provide commentaries and critical evaluation of the law.

E.g. Constitutional Law in Malaysia and Singapore

(b) Casebooks – contain summaries of key judgments on a particular subject, sometimes with editorial commentary.

E.g. Contract Cases and Materials (by Beale, Bishop and Furmston)

(c) Practice books – primarily for use by legal practitioners. Include guides to practice and procedure in the courts.

E.g. Chitty on Contracts Lewin on Trusts Singapore Court Practice 2009

1. Textbooks, Casebooks, etc. (contd.)

(d) Precedent books – specimens of forms and other legal documents with layout and wording accepted as standard

by lawyers.

E.g. Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents(e) Loose-leaf services - books in loose-leaf format which are

regularly updated to keep abreast of changes in the law.

E.g. Woon’s Corporations Law

2. Legal Encyclopaedias

These provide detailed statements of the law in alphabeticalsubject arrangement. Good starting points for research, and are sometimes preferred to textbooks for an overview of the topic.

E.g. Corpus Juris Secundum

Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore

3. Legal Periodicals

Law journals and reviews provide information on the latest developments in the law as well as comments and criticismsof the law.

E.g. Criminal Law Review

Singapore Journal of Legal Studies

4. Research Literature

Doctoral, Masters and other theses provide in-depth analysisof specific topics. Theses submitted to the NUS Faculty of Laware shelved in the C J Koh Law Library’s Theses Collection atcall no. KE5009 *[year] [no.]

E.g. KE5009 *1981 10

5. Reference Works

(a) Legal Dictionaries, Glossaries, Words and Phrases – provide definitions of legal words or phrases.

E.g. Black’s Law Dictionary

Parliamentary Glossary: a Guide to Terms Used in the

Singapore Parliament

Words and Phrases Legally Defined

(b) Legal Directories, Law Lists, etc. – listings of and information on lawyers.

E.g. The Law Society of Singapore Directory

Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory

5. Reference Works (contd.)(c) Bibliographies – listings of books that have been published on a subject.

E.g. A Bibliographical Survey of Singaporean Legal Materials(d) Digests – contain summaries of cases.

E.g. The Digest: Annotated British, Commonwealth and European Cases

Mallal’s Digest of Malaysian and Singapore Case Law(e) Citators

● Case citators – list references to where cases were originally reported and to where they were subsequently cited.

E.g. Current Law Case Citator

● Legislation citators – list references to cases which cited particular legislation.

E.g. Mallal’s Digest: Legislation Citator 1932 to 2006

5. Reference Works (contd.)

(f) Indexes - include indexes of:

● legal citations and abbreviations – provide meanings of legal

abbreviations.

E.g. Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (by Donald Raistrick)

Singapore Legal Abbreviations

● cases – alphabetical or subject listings of cases.

E.g. Mallal’s Digest: Consolidated Tables of Cases 2009 Reissue

● legislation – alphabetical or subject listings of legislation.

E.g. Chronological Table of the Statutes (published by HMSO)

● legal periodicals – listings of journal articles by author or subject.

E.g. Index to Legal Periodicals and Books

How to find articles on “Rylands v Fletcher”?

For e.g. Using LegalTrac

SelectResources >Databases >By Subject >

Find the Citation Using an Indexing database

Enter relevant keywords in the search box and search.

Find the Citation Using an Indexing database

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Where do I find articles on “Rylands v Fletcher”?

Full textsoccasionallyavailable inPDF format

Searchresults:

Find the Citation Using an Indexing database

Click here to access if the article is available online

Full-text Databases

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E.g. Using HeinOnline to find articles on “inchoate title”

Using a Full Text Database

From the NUS Libraries Portal page (http://libportal.nus/edu.sg/)select: Resources > Databases > By Subject > Law > HeinOnline. After logging in with your NUSNET ID and password:

Find journal articles

On this page, you can browse publication titles. If not, then select your preferred search options:

Find journal articlesUsing a Full Text

Database

Select the field you want to search using the drop-down menu (e.g. “Text” or “Article Title”), and then enter the relevant search terms before clicking on the Search button below:

E.g. Using HeinOnline to find articles on “inchoate title”

Using a Full Text Database

Find journal articles

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Are newspaper articles relevant?Newspaper articles provide valuable sources of information:

the latest legal news commentaries on the law information on current cases, many of which may never be

published in the law reports

Engineer escapes jail time for MBS blackout Straits Times, 26 Jul 2013

Drug courier spared the death penalty Straits Times, 11 Apr 2013

Man gets nine months’ jail for theft on board plane Today, 24 Jul 2013

Find Newspaper articles

Find Newspaper articles

Full texts of newspaper articles may be obtained from thefollowing databases:

Access to world leading and business sources including The Straits Times (1 May 1992-), Business Times (1 May 1992-),The Times (UK) (1 Jul 1985-)

Access to local, national and international newspapers and business magazines, including The Straits Times (1 Jul 1989-),Business Times (29 Jan 1984-), The Times (UK) (5 Jan 1981-),The New York Times (1 Jun 1980-)

Access these databases via the NUS Libraries Portal:http://libportal.nus.edu.sg/

Find Newspaper Articles

or selectDatabases and thenFactiva

UnderResources, click onE-Newspapersand selectFactiva on thenext screen

Find Newspaper Articles

There are limited licences for this database. If you encounter anerror message,try again later.

Click onContinue

Find Newspaper Articles

SelectSearch

Select SearchBuilder

E.g. Search for Straits Times articles on sentencing in the “Tang Wee Sung kidney transplant” case

Find Newspaper Articles

Search for your source e.g. Straits Times

Find Newspaper Articles

Enter Search terms

Select date range

Select relevant source

Find Newspaper Articles

Click on relevant title for full text

Lexis database

Search case Rylands v Fletcher

Lexis DatabaseSelect search type terms & connectors. Under restrict by document segment choose name from drop down menu and enter party name and add .

Search case Rylands v Fletcher

Law faculty Home page http://www.law.nus.edu.sg/

Companies Act

Jeyaretnam Joshua Benjamin v Lee Kuan Yew

Library instructional guides

Index to free internet Law resources

Subject Guide

6516 2043

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