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Primary source strategy:
Keyword searching of case law
A keyword search is a simple way to get started with your case law research. In a keyword search, your search term(s) may be searched for anywhere in the full-text of the document.
Keyword searching can be particularly fruitful if your search concept is fairly unique. For instance, a keyword search for mustard gas would likely return significantly more on-topic cases than a keyword search for insurance fraud would.
When choosing keywords, keep in mind that the case law writing tends to be formal in tone and may favour the legalistic wording of a concept over the popular
Search CanLII by keyword to find decisions from Canadian Provincial, Supreme, and Appeal Courts, the Supreme Court of Canada and specialized courts, as well as provincial and federal legislation. CanLII also contains decisions from a wide range of boards and tribunals (e.g., BC Human Rights Tribunals). No classification scheme or subject-indexing is available.
Secondary Legal Sources
Newspaper articles may identify key cases on a particular topic and discusses the case in plain language. Databases such as Canadian Newsstand index thousands of newspaper articles from many Canadian newspapers. Try a search for your topic keywords combined with the keyword "judgment". (Note: There is no "e" in judgment when referring to legal judgments).
Judicial decisions from Canadian courts, which include the reasons for the decision, are written by the presiding judge(s) and made available through Case Law Reports or electronically through commercial databases or free websites.
Use this guide to locate case law (i.e., individual court cases) by topic or subject. For example:
Locating case law by subject is time intensive so allow yourself sufficient lead time.
Electronic resources