The Legal System

Finding out about the Law

Libraries

The Australian Libraries Gateway provides easy access to contact details, websites and catalogues of all the libraries in your local area as well as around the country.

Local Public Libraries

There are many books on the law for non-lawyers. These may provide all the information required, and are likely to be easier to read than statutes and law reports. You will find many of them in your local public library.

Local libraries do not carry extensive law collections, although the ACT Public Library holds some basic law books (in Civic), as do municipal and shire libraries in New South Wales. If your local public library does not have the resources to help you, they may be able to borrow material from other libraries for you. They also tend to respond well to demand.

Court and specialist legal libraries in the ACT

Supreme Court of the ACT - Russell Fox Library

The Supreme Court of the ACT has a library (the Russell Fox Library) which is open to the public - see contact details at Contacts, Links and Resources. The library collection consists of judgments, legislation, law reports, textbooks and periodicals relevant to ACT court proceedings.

ANU Law Library

The Australian National University has a Law Library, located in the Law Faculty Building (Building 5) in Fellows Road, Acton. It holds statutes and case law from every Australian jurisdiction as well as the UK, USA, New Zealand and Canada. Special emphasis has been given to public and international law within the collection. The entire ANU library catalogue is available for free online (use the Subject Search facility to limit your search to legal topics).

Members of the public may use the ANU Law Library but need to arrange this in advance with the Information Adviser's Desk. Most items held in the Law Library are not for loan - instead there is a special collection, called "Permanent Reserve" (located on the ground floor of the library) to house the material that is used most heavily. Permanent Reserve material may, of course, be photocopied. Questions about borrowing material from the Law Library may be referred to the User Services Coordinator, Law. See contact details at Contacts, Links and Resources.

University of Canberra Library

The University of Canberra (UC) Library is located on the UC Campus in Bruce, ACT. Law is taught as a degree course at UC and the library holds an extensive collection of legal resources. Members of the public can search the online catalogue and may also visit the library in person to read books there. To borrow a book you must apply for "external membership" of the library. At time of writing the cost was $99.00 per year (although students and staff at other academic institutions, and alumni of UC, may be eligible for discounted or free membership).

A specialised online guide to research in law using the UC catalogue and other resources is also available. In addition there is an online ask-a-librarian service.

High Court Library

The High Court of Australia has an extensive library but this is not open to members of the public. Part of this library (the Bar Library collection) is open to the legal profession if they are appearing in a case before the High Court of Australia.

Federal Court Resources

The Federal Court of Australia has an online Library Catalogue and Native Title Infobase. Items included in the catalogues are not available for loan to individuals, nor will photocopies be provided, however the Melbourne library of the Court will take inter-library loan inquiries for material listed. . See contact details at Contacts, Links and Resources.

Australian Institute of Criminology

The Australian Institute of Criminology has a library (The J V Barry Library), with a collection focusing on criminology, the social sciences, policing, corrections, and criminal justice. However, access to the Institute's building is restricted, and requests to visit the library should be directed to the Manager, Information Services. Library visitors are advised to use the online library catalogue before visiting the library. The J V Barry Library is not able to offer in-depth reference services to visitors. . See contact details at Contacts, Links and Resources.

Apart from these, most law courts will have at least basic collections that may, with permission from the court staff, be consulted.

The Legal Tool Kit (NSW Law)

All central public libraries in NSW, including two near Canberra -- Queanbeyan and Goulburn -- have a collection of plain language law books called the Legal Tool Kit. The kit is kept up-to-date by the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), located at the State Library in Sydney. There are usually about 20 books in the kit, covering subjects such as family law, tenancy, buying a house, and defending yourself in court. It always includes the latest edition of the NSW Law Handbook.

For more information, contact LIAC or visit its Internet site ( www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au). LIAC has a range of services to assist the general public in finding legal information. LIAC's services are free and confidential.

Generalist libraries at academic institutions in the ACT

Apart from the specialist law libraries at ANU and UC mentioned above at Court and specialist legal libraries in the ACT, the following academic libraries may also have useful information on legal topics.

Australian Catholic University Library (Signadou Campus) Lewins Library

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has a campus in Watson, ACT (the Signadou Campus) among many other campuses across Australia. While Law is not taught as an undergraduate course at ACU, the Signadou Campus does offer a Graduate Certificate in Education Law, and the ACU Library at that campus (the Lewins Library) contains many general legal reference works which can be searched using the online catalogue. Books can also be requested from other campuses. There is also an ask-a-librarian service available.

Members of the public wishing to use the Lewins Library should contact the information desk – see contact details below at Contacts, Links and Resources.

Canberra Institute of Technology Library

The Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) is an educational institution offering diploma and certificate level courses, with campuses across the ACT. The CIT Library and Learning Centre has locations at each CIT campus (Bruce, Fyshwick, Reid, and Southside) as well as a separate Learning Centre Location at Tuggeranong. Each campus' Learning Centre has particular resources related to courses studied on that campus. The extent of the services available, and the opening hours vary from campus to campus. The holdings of all campuses can be searched via the online catalogue. CIT does not offer a Law degree course as such but the library holds some useful general legal reference books.

Students or staff at other Australian educational institutions may be able to join the CIT Library as a courtesy borrower and vice versa. Members of the community may also join the Library for an annual fee of $121 (GST inclusive). Contact the Loans Desk at any Campus Learning Centre for further details - see contact details below at Contacts, Links and Resources. Some restrictions on use may apply.

CIT Library and Learning Centre does have an ask-a-librarian service but use of this is limited to CIT students and staff.

Australian Defence Force Academy Library

The Australian Defence Force Academy, known as the University of New South Wales at ADFA, has a library located at its campus in Canberra, off Fairbairn Avenue. The library has approximately 424,000 volumes and an extensive set of electronic resources. While Law is not taught as an undergraduate course at ADFA, the library holds many legal reference works, which can be searched via the online catalogue.

Defence personnel and students and staff of other academic institutions may be able to access basic borrowing privileges, either free of charge or on payment of a refundable deposit. The Library is also open to members of the public, who are welcome to visit and use its resources onsite. Members of the public may also apply for borrowing privileges. Fees for individual borrowers are $66 per Semester (6 months) or $122 per annum (including GST).

There is also an ask-a-librarian service, although requests from individuals who are not registered borrowers will receive a lower priority. See contact details below at Contacts, Links and Resources.

Internet access

All ACT Public Libraries now offer Internet access, and trained staff can assist even the total novice to find almost anything online. If you need help, it is best to make prior arrangements with library staff to ensure someone is available to assist you.

Online Information

There are now many internet sites offering general or more specific legal information. Firstly, there are the sites mentioned at Statute law at Publication of Acts and Regulations. See also the website of ACT Legal Aid and the publications page of the Law Society of the ACT to access a range of plain English publications on legal issues.

As noted above, the Australian Libraries Gateway provides easy access to contact details, websites and catalogues of all the libraries in your local area as well as around the country.

As noted above, the entire ANU library catalogue is available for free online (use the Subject Search facility to limit your search to legal topics). ANU also provides a page of law internet resources with many useful links.

The University of Canberra has, as noted above, the following online resources available:

• Online catalogue;
• Ask-a-librarian service; and
• Online guide to research in law

The High Court of Australia provides a Legal Links page connecting to Australian and international cases and legislation.

In addition to its online Library Catalogue and Native Title Infobase mentioned above, the Federal Court of Australia maintains a Legal Research Links page that is also subject arranged and specialises in legal subjects.

In addition to its online library catalogue noted above, the Australian Institute of Criminology has links to several local, national and international online criminology databases and resources, as well as its own database (covering Australian material on all aspects of crime, criminal justice and criminology), called CINCH.

The Supreme Court of the ACT maintains a list of ACT Legal Materials as well as other Legal Links to Australian legal sites, courts, tribunals, legislation and Human Rights resources. There is also a linked list of legislation relevant to the work of the court.

The Magistrates Court of the ACT also provides links to relevant legislation and has some information pamphlets available online.

The ACT Public Library catalogue is available online at the ACT Virtual Library Website.

Canberra Institute of Technology Library and Learning Centre has an online library catalogue, as does the Australian Catholic University Library (http://www.acu.edu.au/library/find/catalogue_ebooks/). ACU also has an ask-a-librarian service.

The Australian Defence Force Academy Library also offers an online catalogue and an ask-a-librarian service (however requests from individuals who are not registered borrowers will receive a lower priority).

In New South Wales, the NSW Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) is a specialist service of the State Library of NSW, providing information about the law for the community in NSW. The service is free and confidential. The State Library of New South Wales also maintains a list of internet links. Here you will find links to subject-arranged reference sites selected by reference staff to assist you in finding quality information sources on the Internet. Another high-quality library-sponsored site is www.weblaw.edu.au/index.phtml, with contributions from a number of specialist law librarians across Australia.

There are also several commercial sites which provide some legal advice and offer advertising for law firms at the same time, such as http://www.law4you.com.au.

New sites are being created all the time -- a search engine such as Google offers literally hundreds of websites. However, as with any information found on the Internet, you need to check that the site you are accessing is a reliable and authoritative source of legal information, and not just a forum for expression of an individual (and perhaps inaccurate) view of the law.

Law Reports

Law reports contain the more important cases decided by the courts. There are many different series of law reports, each one reporting decisions of different courts in different states and countries.

When a reported case is referred to in this book, a traditionally accepted shorthand reference will be used: for example, Commonwealth v Anderson (1960) 105 CLR 303; Commonwealth v Anderson [1961] ALR 354. This case has been reported in two law report series: the Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) and the Australian Law Reports (ALR). In the above examples, the person commencing the action is the Commonwealth and the person defending the action is Anderson. In the first series of reports, "(1960)" is the year in which the decision was handed down and "105" is the volume reference. In the second, "[1961]" is the volume reference. The final figure in both cases is the page number the judgment starts at in that volume.

Most law reports contain the names of the parties to the dispute, a summary at the front of the case which lists the facts involved and the court's decisions (called the "headnote"), written judgments, word for word, of the judges, including their reasons for deciding as they did, and the order of the court.

If you are looking for cases on a particular topic, as opposed to a particular case, you can use the Australian Legal Monthly Digest or Australian Current Law (available in any law library, or online (for a fee)). These books are arranged under topics and list relevant cases and where to find them. Comprehensive databases (such as the Australasian Legal Information Institute ( Austlii)) are also becoming increasingly available. Most of the courts now also have websites and you are often able to access the judges' decisions. See Contacts, Links and Resources for a list of courts and their websites.