Title of the topic: Different Methods to Search Case Laws

Division: D

Roll no. : 181

Name of the subject: Legal Language

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Introduction

It is quite true that a good lawyer must have a good knowledge of law. However, it would be
going too far to assume that he should be knowledgeable in all the laws of the country and also
be well-versed with all the niceties of every field of law. Therefore, what is important for the
lawyer is not only to know the law but also to know how to find the law. Acquiring a good
command over the various techniques of finding case-law, calls for special techniques and
methods of searching for case law.

A lawyer uses several methods of locating cases, but the most useful amongst them are the
following four:
(a) Statute approach;
(b) Subject or topic approach
(c) Case method approach
(d) Search on the Internet

Each of these is briefly discussed below.

(a) Statute approach:

Under this traditional method, the relevant case law is found by searching for cases under the
relevant statute, rule, regulation, order, etc. The approach is mainly based on commonly used
words, phrases and headings. After successfully locating the Act, one has to go to the relevant
section which deals with the subject-matter in question. Thus, if one has to search for cases
relating to a minor's agreement, one would go to the Indian Contract Act, and the relevant
sections thereunder, namely, Sections 10 and 11. Practically every text would contain a plethora
of cases under these sections, and the lawyer would have to judiciously pick up those that he
feels are relevant for his purpose.

(b) Subject or topic approach:

This approach is an easy and convenient method of finding cases, and is particularly useful
where the law is not codified, as for instance, the law of torts or administrative law or the law
relating to interpretation of statutes. It is, however, also very useful for locating cases under the
codified law, like the Indian Contract Act or the Indian Penal Code. Thus, for instance, if the
lawyer is looking out for cases on negligence, the relevant cases will be found under the chapter
on Negligence in any book on the law of torts, as for instance, the book by Ratanlal and
Dhirajlal. Following this method, me lawyer will find, not only cases which support his brief, but
also those that have been decided against the point which is being canvassed by him in his
case.

Even when a lawyer is not familiar with a given Act, most text books would have a Synopsis,
listing all relevant statutes and sub-topics, thus further facilitating the search for the cases by a
lawyer following this method. Moreover, in several text books, important concepts, doctrines and
maxims, which have been discussed at several places in the book, are separately listed in the
Index or in the Contents. Many text books not only give a synopsis, but also print the heading of
the synopsis on the top of the column on all subsequent pages where the topic continues to be
discussed.

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 (c) Case method approach:

The case method approach is yet another widely-used method of locating cases. If one known
case on the point in question is available, other cases can easily be traced, following their
citations in the first mentioned case. For instance, a famous English case on negligence is
Donoghue v. Stevenson, and a perusal of this judgment will take the reader to other cases on
negligence, along with their citations. Likewise, the most notable case on the measure of
damages in the case of breach of contract, namely, Hadley v. Baxendale, can be profitably read
to discover other cases (with their citations) on the same point of law. This method is also used
to evaluate how useful a particular case is for the lawyer. If a given case is repeatedly followed
in later cases, it adds to the weight that it carries. On the other hand, if such a case has been
overruled by a higher court, its standing as a precedent is destroyed.

(d) Search on the Internet:

This is the latest and the most high-tech method used by a lawyer to locate cases. Access to
the Internet has opened up the floodgates of case-law, and the lawyer can get a plethora of
cases on a given point at the touch of a button. One has only to go to legal sites like Lexsite,
Manupatra, Legalpundits, Laws4india, Indlaws, Vakil No 1, or Grandjurix, or even do a Google
search and locate as many cases as one wants. Most of these sites are quite user-friendly and
contain simple instructions to locate al known case or all cases on a given point of law. All these
sites are not free, however, the payment of a nominal subscription opens up hundreds and
thousands of cases of the Supreme Court and all High Courts in India. The Internet is today the
fastest way of locating a case, checking cross-references, and getting a print-out thereof, all in a
matter of a few minutes.

Examples of search for case law

If the name of a particular case is known, it can be easily located by reference to the Nominal
Index or Nominal Table of an appropriate law reporter, where one finds a list of reported cases,
arranged alphabetically. If the case appears to belong to a particular field of law, as for instance,
the law of crimes or company law, a specialised law reporter like the Criminal Law Journal (for
cases on criminal law) or Company Cases (for corporate cases) should be referred to. However,
in the case of a general search, where the lawyer is not sure of the field of law to which the case
belongs, an all-round reporter like the AIR should be the first preference. Needless to say, if the
case appears to be an English case, the appropriate law reports of England should be referred
to. If access to the Internet is available, the site will have all the information and the entire
process can be completed in a few minutes.

If, however, the citation of the given case is known, the task assumes greater simplicity, as one
has only to go to that particular law reporter to locate the case in hand. Of course, the lawyer
should be familiar with the abbreviated names of the law reports, a list whereof will be found
later in this Chapter. He should know, for instance, that AIR means All India Reporter and SCR
is the short form for the Supreme Court Reports. Thus, for instance, if the known citation is 2008
2 SCC 100, one should at once take hold of the second volume of the Supreme Court Cases of
2008, and go straight to page 100 thereof, to locate the case in question. If access to the
Internet is available, one has only to log in the citation and the full text of the judgment will
appear before the user in a matter of seconds.

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To search for case law on remoteness of damages

As every lawyer knows, remoteness of damages is a topic that is relevant to the law of torts as
well as the law of contracts. One would, therefore, first refer to a leading text book on the
subject, as for instance, The Law of Torts by Ratanlal and Dhirajlal or The Indian Contract Act
by Pollock and Mulla.

In the book on torts, one would go to the Chapter on Damages, and look out for a topic with a
title like Remoteness of damages or Remote Damages or When damages may be said to be
remote. Once this is done, one will find a plethora of cases on the point, along with their
citations. These citations are sometimes given in the body of the book along with the names of
the cases, and sometimes by way of foot-notes. All these citations should be carefully noted, as
the next step is to find these cases in the relevant law reporter, like the AIR, SCR, SCC, WLR,
and so on. Once the case is located, its head-notes will reveal the principle laid down in that
case. The judgment will also refer to several other cases on remoteness of damages, referred to
by lawyers on both the sides, and these can be profitably referred to. A list of such cases is also
usually given before the text of the judgment. Each judgment, when referred to, will, in turn,
refer to several other cases, and thus, the lawyer will end up with a gold mine of decided cases
on remoteness of damages under the law of torts.

If, however, the topic is to be examined from the angle of the law of contracts, one would first
locate the relevant section of the Indian Contract Act, in this case, S. 73 of that Act. The
commentary under that section will open up a flood-gate of case law, and the procedure
described above can be continued profitably.

If access to the Internet is available, the above search becomes even simpler. One has only to
log on to the relevant site and use its Search Engine to arrive at a list of cases on the point of
interest. When the relevant words are entered (-as for instance, "remoteness of damages" or
"remote damages" or "damages-remote", in the present case-) a huge list of the names of the
cases will appear. One can then open some or all of these cases to see the full text of the
judgments and take print-outs of those which are relevant.

Conclusion:

The above methods of locating case law are not mutually exclusive, and are often used in
conjunction by most lawyers. Relying solely on any one single method in all cases is, therefore,
not advisable. A judicious combination of all the methods would yield the best results.

Reference: Book on Legal Language, Legal Writing & General English by Prof. H.D Pithawalla

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