
	Objectives What is case law? Structure of a case Law reports Case citation Finding cases: full citation Finding cases: incomplete citation Finding cases by subject Updating cases

Finding Cases by Full Citation

Example case: Commonwealth v Yarmirr (2001) 208 CLR 1

Step 1: Find out what the abbreviation CLR represents

Check the abbreviations list in the Appendix of the print version of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 285-315

List of abbreviations from Australian Guide to Legal Citation

Looking at the options, Canada can be eliminated because the date of the case is 2001 which is after Construction Law Reports ceased publication. Hence, CLR here refers to Commonwealth Law Reports.

Step 2: Look for the title of the law report series

For our example, use Summon to search the Library collection and look up Commonwealth Law Reports
Tip: try the Advanced Search using the Title field
Click on the title "Commonwealth law reports" to open full text

Step 3: Obtain the full text of the case

Watch the demonstration video below to learn how to obtain the full text of the case, electronically:
Finding Commonwealth Law Reports [PDF]
The print copy is held in the Law Library (Ground Floor) - call number: KH/41/AUS (select Vol 208, page 1)

Finding cases: incomplete citation

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