Law, Human Rights Guide Ask Us

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
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • In print on the reference desk
  • In print in the reference section
• Dictionary of Canadian Law
  • In print on the reference desk
• Black's Law Dictionary (American)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only
    • Go to Westlaw US via the International tab and start typing the title
  • In print on the reference desk

Words & 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 (Canadian Abridgment)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • In print in the reference section
• Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
  • In print on the reference desk

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

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Human Rights
  • International Law (last updated in 1995: use with caution).

Halsbury's Laws of Canada

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• In print in the reference section
• Helpful titles include:
  • Discrimination and Human Rights
  • Public International Law

JurisClasseur Quebec

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Note: JurisClasseur is in French only, with no English translation.

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 in your research:

Canadian:

• The Annotated Canadian Human Rights Act. LAW-STACKS KF4483 .C5 C56.
• The Canadian Charter of Rights Annotated by J.B. Laskin et al. LAW-RESERVE KF4483 .C5 C35 and eLooseleaf via ProView.
• Constitutional law of Canada by Peter W. Hogg. LAW-RESERVE KF4482 .H66 2007 and eLooseleaf via ProView.
• Discrimination and the Law: Including Equality Rights under the Charter by Walter Surma Tarnopolsky. LAW-RESERVE KF4483 .C5 T32 1985 and eLooseleaf via ProView.
• The Law of Human Rights in Canada: Practice and Procedure by Russel W. Zinn. LAW-RESERVE KF4483 .C5 Z55 1996 and eLooseleaf via ProView.

International:

• Encyclopedia of Human Rights by David P. Forsythe. eBook only.
• International Human Rights Law by Mark Freeman & Gibran van Ert. LAW-RESERVE K3240 .F74 2004 and eBook.
• Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, 3rd ed, by Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, Laura Brav & Camille Michel. eBook only.
  • 2nd ed: LAW-REF KZ6471 .B68 2007
• The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law by Dinah Shelton. LAW-STACKS K3240 .O94 2013 and eBook.

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

• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text (1981– )
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (1908–1981)
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• LegalTrac
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library
• CanLII  
  • Click Commentary

Indexes

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text (1981– )
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (1908–1981)
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• LegalTrac
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database

Legislation & Case Law

Key Databases & Websites

The following databases and websites provide access to legislation and/or case law.

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII  
• Justice Laws  (Government of Canada 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)
  • Includes current legislation, rules of court, the Royal Gazette, the status of bills, and more
• New Brunswick Court Index
• New Brunswick Courts
• New Brunswick Court Docket List
• New Brunswick Court Proceedings Transcript Fees & Request Form
• European Court of Human Rights
  • An international court established by the European Convention on Human Rights. Search the HUDOC database for case law.

Statutes

The following statutes are related to human rights law. For statutes not listed, search the databases listed above.

• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
• Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c H-6 (and its regulations)
• Human Rights Act, RSNB 2011, c 171. (New Brunswick)

Case Digests

Along with searching the databases mentioned above, you should use a case digest to find case law. A case digest service indexes 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 research topic, saving you hours of time.

Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.

Canadian Abridgment Digests

• Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Useful titles include:
  • Human Rights
  • Constitutional Law

Canada Digest

• Available via Lexis+ and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Useful titles include:
  • Canada Human Rights Law Digest
  • Canada Constitutional Law Digest

International Treaties & Documents

A treaty is a formal agreement between two or more countries. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, pact, convention, protocol, or covenant.

Treaties can be bilateral, multilateral, or plurilateral:

• Bilateral: treaties between Canada and one other country
• Multilateral: treaties between three or more countries
• Plurilateral: treaties between one State and a group of States

Canadian Treaties and Documents

• Canada Treaty List   (via Global Affairs Canada)
• Canada Treaty Series   (via Global Affairs Canada)
• UN Declarations and Statements   (via Global Affairs Canada)
• Human Rights Treaties   (via Government of Canada)

United Nations Documents

• United Nations Treaty Series  
• United Nations OHCHR Databases  
• Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (research guide from the UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Library)

International, Foreign, and U.S. Treaties

• Treaties and International Agreements Research Guide   (via University of Chicago Library)

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

• UNB Libraries' Government Documents Search  
• Government of Canada Publications Search  
• Library of Parliament Research Publications  
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Publications  
• New Brunswick Government Websites  
  • Go to the specific department's website for their publications

Government organizations, such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission   and the Premier's Council on Disabilities  , will also have reports and publications available online.

Hansards/Debates

• House of Commons Debates (Hansard)  
• Debates of the Senate (Hansard)  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House and Senate debates from 1867–1996
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Hansards  
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Hansards (print)
  • 1931–1979, 1980–1995/1996, 2002/2003–present: third floor, government documents section
  • 1896–1930 (also called Synoptic Reports): Rare Books Reading Room

Journals/Votes and Proceedings

• House of Commons Journals  
• Journals of the Senate  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House and Senate journals from 1867–1997
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals  
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals (via UNB Libraries)
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Journals (print)
  • 1935–present (with some gaps): third floor, government documents section
  • 1894–1934: Rare Books Reading Room

Committee Reports

• LegisInfo  
• Library of Parliament  
• House of Commons Committee Reports  
• Senate Committee Reports  
• Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources  
  • Historical House (1877–1993) and Senate (1887–1993) committee documents
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Committee Reports  
• UNB Libraries
  • Search the catalogue for committee reports in print

Websites & Blogs

Note: use Google search operators to focus your search, such as the site operator (site:) and the filetype operator (filetype:). For example, including site:gc.ca (or site:canada.ca) and filetype:pdf with your keywords will retrieve PDF documents from Government of Canada websites. This is a good way to find government reports, as they are often in PDF format.

The following websites may be helpful for your research:

• Amnesty International Canada
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association  
• Canadian Human Rights Commission  
• Council of Europe Commissioner of Human Rights  
• Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (US Department of State)
• EU Charter of Fundamental Rights  
• Human Rights First  
• Human Rights Library (via University of Minnesota)
• Human Rights Research Guide (via NYU Libraries)
• Human Rights Watch
• INTERIGHTS (International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights)
• International Commission of Jurists
• Women's Human Rights Resources Programme (WHRR)  (via University of Toronto's Bora Laskin Law Library)

There are many blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms, and you can find many of them at lawblogs.ca. There are several blogs listed in the human rights category that may be helpful.