Legal Dictionaries/Words & Phrases
Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases
Legal dictionaries and words and phrases can help you research the meaning of legal terms and the legal interpretation of legal words and phrases. This can help when you’re trying to interpret a statute for which there is no clear case law or if you’re trying to discern the meaning of a word in a key legal document, such as a contract or a will.
Legal Dictionaries
If you need to know the meaning of a legal word, use a legal dictionary. Legal dictionaries are available online and in print:
- Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
- Dictionary of Canadian Law
- Black's Law Dictionary (American)
Words and Phrases
Words and phrases differ from dictionaries, as they show what the courts have said about a particular term. A words and phrases source will show how courts in different jurisdictions (federal, provincial, international) have defined this term. Online words and phrases include links to these cases so you can see the definition in context.
There are a few words and phrases to choose from:
- Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals (aka: Words & Phrases)
- Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
- Sanagan's Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.
There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.
Another legal encyclopedia is JurisClasseur Quebec, which covers Quebec law and is in French only.
Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge, while Halsbury's and JurisClasseur are available in Lexis+/Lexis Advance Quicklaw.
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
Halsbury's Laws of Canada
JurisClasseur Quebec
- Lexis+ (law students only)
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
- Helpful titles include:
- JCQ Droit civil - Personnes et famille
Journal Articles & Databases
Journal Articles & Databases
The Law Library subscribes to a wide variety of law journals, both online and in print.
If you already know the journal title, year, volume number, and page number for an article, search for the journal's title in the Journals & Newspapers database. If we have access to the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed with the format(s) and dates available with links to those available online. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.
Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.
Full-text Databases
Indexes
Books & eBooks
Books & eBooks
To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.
Items shown as LAW-RESERVE may be requested at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Law Library. Bring the book's call number with you to the desk. Items shown as LAW-STACKS are on the second floor, and LAW-REF materials are on the first floor in the reference section.
The following books may be useful for your research:
- Annotated Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2nd ed, by Rochelle Direnfeld et al. LAW-RESERVE KF9780 .ZA2 C362 2015 and eBook.
- Child Protection Law in Canada by Marvin M. Bernstein. LAW-RESERVE KF479 .A6 C53 (last updated 2010).
- Children and International Human Rights Law: The Right of the Child to Be Heard by Aisling Parkes. LAW-STACKS K639 .P37 2013.
- Children as Victims, Witnesses, and Offenders: Psychological Science and the Law by Bette L Bottoms, Cynthia J. Najdowski & Gail S. Goodman. LAW-STACKS HV6250.4 .C48 C4556 2009 and eBook.
- Children's Law Handbook by Marvin A Zuker, Sheila C. MacKinnon & Brock Jones. LAW-STACKS KF479 Z75 2019.
- Implementing and Working with the Youth Criminal Justice Act Across Canada by Marc Alain, Raymond R. Corrado & Susan Reid, eds. LAW-STACKS HV9108 .I46 2016 and eBook.
- A Magna Carta for Children?: Rethinking Children's Rights by Michael Freeman. LAW-STACKS K639 .F74 2020.
- Prosecuting and Defending Youth Criminal Justice Cases by Brock Jones et al. LAW-STACKS KF9780 .ZA2 J66 2019 and eBook.
- Vulnerable Persons: Protection and Remedies in Canada [3 vols.] by Lynn Kirwin. LAW-RESERVE KF475 .A6 K57 2011.
- Wilson on Children and the Law [2 vols.] by Jeffery Wilson & Maryellen Symons. LAW-RESERVE KF479 .A6 W545 1994 and eBook.
- Youth and the Law, 4th ed, by Susan Reid et al. and eBook. LAW-STACKS KF9780 .ZA2 O44 2019 and eBook.
- Youth Criminal Justice Law, 3rd ed, by Nicholas Bala & Sanjeev Anand. LAW-STACKS KF9780 .ZA2 B342 2012 and eBook.
- Youth and the Criminal Law in Canada by Sherri Davis-Barron. LAW-STACKS KF9780 .ZA2 D38 2015.
Legislation & Case Law
Legislation & Case Law
Key Databases
The following databases and websites provide both legislation and case law:
Legislation
- LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
- Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
- Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
- New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
- GALLOP Portal
- Searches electronic government documents from Legislative libraries in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, and Québec
- Justice Laws (federal legislation)
- LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
- Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
- Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
- New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
Specific Statutes
The following statutes might be helpful. For other statutes not listed, search the databases listed above.
- Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46.
- Youth Criminal Justice Act, SC 2002, c 1.
- Family Services Act, SNB 1980, c F-2.2. (New Brunswick)
- Custody and Detention of Young Persons Act, RSNB 2011, c 137. (New Brunswick)
- Child, Youth and Senior Advocate Act, SNB 2007, c C-2.7. (New Brunswick)
Cases and Decisions
Along with searching the databases listed above, you can find case law on the following websites:
Cases Digests
Along with searching the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. Case digests index cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your topic, saving you hours of research time.
Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.
Canadian Abridgment Digests
Canada Digest
Government Documents
Government Documents
Government departments and agencies publish a great deal of important law-related information. The Law Library's collection of printed government documents is located on the library's third floor. Use UNB WorldCat to search, or ask a library staff member for help.
The Harriet Irving Library also has government documents, which can be located through UNB WorldCat.
For government documents that are available online, try using UNB Libraries' Government Documents Search.
Note: if you include site:canada.ca (and/or site:gc.ca) and filetype:pdf in a Google search, you will retrieve PDF documents from Government of Canada websites. This is a good way to find government reports, as they are usually in PDF format.
Publications
Hansards/Debates
Journals/Votes and Proceedings
Committee Reports
Websites
Websites
The following websites may be helpful for your research:
UN Documents
UN Documents
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 that is made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
The following pages and documents might be helpful with your research:
Last modified on November 6, 2023 10:05
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