LW111- Module 2 WK6

• Case structure


  The structure of cases that helps read and analyse them
• Case citation


  The system used to organize, identify and locate a case
• Elements of a case citation for a reported case

  • Case name
  • Year
  • Volume number
  • Law report abbreviation
  • Starting page number
• Reported case citation


  Case name, year, volume, report abbreviation, court name, case number, starting page
• Reported case citations have round brackets for the year, unreported cases have square brackets
• Sections usually found in a reported case law

  • Parties' names
  • Court
  • Date of hearing
  • Judges' names
  • Keywords/subject terms
  • Headnote
  • Facts & Issues
  • Judicial history
  • Authorities referred to
  • Opinion/judgment
  • Outcome
  • Representation
• Elements of a case citation for an unreported case

  • Case name
  • Year
  • Court identifier
  • Case number
• Unreported case citations only have square brackets for the year
• Identifying relevant facts in a case judgment


  Facts describe the history of the dispute, including the events that led to the lawsuit, the legal claims and defenses of each party, and what happened in the trial court. Relevant facts are those that were important to the court's decision.
• Identifying the legal issue in a case judgment


  The legal question that the court has to answer, expressed in the form of a statement
• Ratio decidendi


  The necessary reasoning regarding the legal aspect that the judge needed to resolve the case
• The ratio decidendi must be a necessary step to the conclusion, directly related to the issue, come from disputes of law not fact, and be argued in court
• When there are multiple judges, the ratio is binding if the majority agree, and if they have different reasons the essential areas of agreement must be found