Research Guides: How do I Locate Case Law?: Which database to use?

Database user guides

How do I use LawNet?
by Samantha Lim Last Updated Oct 2, 2024 1352 views this year
How do I use Lexis Advance?
by Samantha Lim Last Updated Oct 2, 2024 198 views this year
How do I use Westlaw?
by Samantha Lim Last Updated Oct 2, 2024 353 views this year

List of Databases with Case Law

LawNet
This database provides online access to Singapore Legislation, Case Law, Secondary materials, Parliamentary Reports and Treaties. It also provides access to the UK Law Reports (ICLR) and the Weekly Law Reports. Select Legal Research menu tab to start your search.

Access: 97 concurrent users.
Remember to logout before leaving LawNet.
Westlaw
Thomson Reuters Westlaw - This is an online legal research service which provides a unique collection of legal and regulatory information by combining materials from renowned information providers such as Sweet & Maxwell, Carswell and West Group. The collection includes case law, legislation, law reviews, treaties, and directories.

To access non-US materials, click on International Materials before performing a search.

Access: 50 concurrent users.

To access:
1. Check [I agree].
2. Click on [Go].

Take note that excessive downloading of content is strictly prohibited.
Chinalawinfo
Chinalawinfo.com provides access to Chinese & English-language versions of all the relevant documents for legal research in China. The database provides access to China's legislation, case law, gazettes, selected journals and legal news. There are more notes and links in the Chinese text version, but the database only provides English translations for the main contents of the Chinese text.

Access: 1 concurrent user.
Remember to click the Logout button at the end of your session. View details of coverage.
CLJ Law Database of Malaysia
This English language database contains the full text of all Malaysian cases and federal acts. New bills, acts, subsidiary acts and amending acts are listed as they become available. The database provides links to a number of free legal directories. These include the Malaysian legal professional email directory and the Malaysian Bar Council Directory.

Access: 2 concurrent users.
To login, click on the "Sign in" button at the top right hand corner of the screen. Leave the username and password as it is.
English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1867)
The English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1865) online edition delivers exact page-images of the original bound reprint edition, containing more than 100,000 cases, together with the Indexes and Book of Charts arranged by the English Courts: House of Lords, Chancery, Rolls Court, etc. In addition, multiple navigation tools, such as a Case Locator, Chart Tool, and an Advanced Search feature enhance the ease of access to specific cases.
i-law.com
Provides access to law reports, journal articles and texts on the area of Arbitration, Competition, Construction, Financial Crime, Insurance, Re-insurance, Intellectual Property, Maritime & Commercial Law, and Professional Negligence. Key titles include: Lloyds Law Reports, Lloyd's Maritime & Commerical Law Quarterly, Building Law Reports.

Note: From April 2022, i-law requires email and password to access the database. For more information on accessing i-law, please refer to the following FAQ.

If you are a full-time faculty, research staff, undergraduate or postgraduate student from YPHSL, your account would have been pre-loaded into the system.

For other users who are active SMU faculty (including adjuncts), staff, undergraduate or postgraduate students, you can click on this link to register for an account by completing the form.
vLexJustis
vLexJustis provides access to both vLex and Justis content which includes case law, legislation, journals, books, dockets, news, commentary, and more, spanning a wide range of jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, European Union, and Southeast Asia.
Manupatra
Manupatra provides full text access to Indian judgments from 1932. The courts covered for this period include: Allahabad, Calcutta, Nagpur, Oudh, Federal Court, Privy Council. Bombay High Court covers judgments from 1879 to date and Madras High Court covers judgments from 1867 to date. In terms of legislation, it includes 1100 acts incorporating amendments, subsidiary legislation and repealed legislation. Also included are Bills, Committee Reports, Notifications and Circulars and selected forms. Topics covered include: Anti-Dumping, WTO, Arbitration, Cyber and IT Laws, Intellectual Property rights, Corporate Laws, Employment Laws, Insurance, Company Cases, Taxation, Human Rights, Foreign Trade Policy procedures, Industrial Policy procedures, Environment.
U.S. Attorney General Opinions
This collection includes the official opinions of the U.S. Attorney General (both the Official Opinions of the Attorneys General of the United States as well as the Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice).

Which database do I use?

Identifying the jurisdiction and time period the law report covers will help you identify the appropriate database to use from the following mind map. The three main legal databases for case law are LawNet, Lexis Advance and Westlaw.

In the following example,

Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd [1962] AC 446

We discovered from the Cardiff Index that the ‘AC’ refers to the ‘Law Reports, Appeal Cases’ and it is a UK law report that started from 1891.

Looking at the mind map above, we see that for UK cases after 1865, we can use a variety of law databases such as LawNet, Westlaw, Lexis Advance and BAILII (a free internet site).

In addition, the library also has hard copies of the English law reports.

On the other hand if we were looking for an English case reported before 1865, the mind map shows us that only HeinOnline and CommonLII provides access to these cases.