1. Singapore and UK Case Law Conducted by Lee Su-Lin 19 August 2019
© C J Koh Law Library

2. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the author. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature.
No copyright is claimed in the text of statutes, regulations and court decisions quoted within this work.
© C J Koh Law Library

3. This tutorial is specifically designed for the Legal Analysis, Research and Communication (LARC) course for first year law students at NUS Law.
The purpose of the tutorial is to teach students how to read Singapore and UK case citations, and to locate cases in the printed law reports.
© C J Koh Law Library

4. Contents 1. Primary sources of law p.5
2. Singapore case law p.6
3. Law reports of Singapore p.8
4. The case citation p.16
5. How to find a case if I have a citation p.22
6. UK case law p.35
7. Law reports of UK p.36
8. Finding cases with citations p.43
9. Alternative citations p.59
© C J Koh Law Library

5. Primary Sources of Law
Primary sources of law are authoritative records of law made by the law-making bodies of Singapore.
The 2 main sources of law are:
Legislation
Statutes
Subsidiary legislation
Quasi-legislation
2. Case Law
Decisions of the Singapore courts.

6. Singapore Case Law
Lady Justice in the centre of the tympanum of the old Supreme Court building
Case law – the law as established by the decisions of courts.
Stare decisis – principle of English law by which precedents are authoritative and binding.

7. Singapore Case Law
Court Structure
© NUS Libraries

8. Law Reports of Singapore
Law reports are the published judgments of court cases. Cases are only selected for reporting if they are deemed to be of significant legal interest, such as those that create a new precedent, modify or clarify an existing principle of law.
Therefore, only a small proportion of cases are reported, and these are mainly from the Supreme Court (i.e. High Court and Court of Appeal).

9. Law Reports of Singapore
A. Singapore Law Reports
The principle law report series in Singapore is the Singapore Law Reports. It covers cases from 1965.
Ref: K7599 SLR (1992-); K7599 SLR ( )

10. Law Reports of Singapore
B. Singapore Law Reports (Reissue)
The Academy of Law re-issued the Singapore Law Reports from 1965 through 2009, with re-written headnotes for the reports from 1965 to 2002, and re-edited judgment texts to conform with the SAL house-style. This set of reports is called the Singapore Law Reports (Reissue).
Both the original SLR volumes from 1965 to 2002, and the Reissue are equally authoritative as each judgment reported in both remains in substance, though not in form, the same.
Ref: K7599 SLR

11. Law Reports of Singapore
C. Malayan Law Journal
The other law report series which is the major source of reported Singapore court decisions from 1932 to 1991 is the Malayan Law Journal.
Ref: K7599 MLJ

12. D. Singapore Syariah Appeals Reports
Law Reports of Singapore
D. Singapore Syariah Appeals Reports
The Singapore Syariah Appeals Reports is the official report series of grounds of decisions delivered by the Syariah Appeal Board from 1980 to 2015.
Ref: K7599 SSC

13. Major Law Reports of Singapore – A Reverse Chronological List
E. Older Law Reports Series
Major Law Reports of Singapore – A Reverse Chronological List
Title
Abbreviation
Publication Date
Location
Singapore Law Reports
SLR
1965-
Print: K7599 SLR; K7599 SLR
Online: LawNet (NUS Law) (Other NUS staff & students)
Singapore Law Reports (Reissue)
SLR(R)
Print: K7599 SLR Online: LawNet (NUS Law) (Other NUS staff & students)
Malayan Law Journal
MLJ
Print: K7599 MLJ
Online: LawNet (NUS Law) (Other NUS staff & students)
Online: Lexis Singapore
Straits Settlements Law Reports
SSLR
(new series)
(old series)
Print: K7596 SSLR
Federated Malay States Law Reports
FMSLR
(covers )
Print: K7600 FMSLR
Kyshe’s Reports Ky
(covers )
Print: K7596 Ky
Straits Law Reports
SLR Leic
1877 (covers )
Print: K7596 SLR
There are several discontinued series of law reports that contain older cases from the courts of Singapore, Malaya and Borneo.
A complete listing of these reports can be found on p.vii-viii of Mallal’s Digest: Consolidated Table of Cases 2015 Reissue under the section entitled “Reports and Publications and Their Abbreviations”. (Ref: K Md)
Here is a reverse chronological list of major law reports through the years:
For a more complete listing, refer to the LibGuide.

14. A. Unreported Judgements
Other Sources of Case Law
A. Unreported Judgements
These are full text transcripts of written judgments as handed down in the State Courts, High Court and Court of Appeal.
They are available online via LawNet .
Earlier judgments are also available in print in the Law Library:
Ref: K7599 CA (Court of Appeal, Civil Appeals)
K7599 CRA (Court of Appeal, Criminal Appeals)
K7599 DC (District Court)
K7599 J (High Court)
K7599 MC (Magistrates’ Court)

15. B. Decisions of Boards & Tribunals
Other Sources of Case Law
B. Decisions of Boards & Tribunals
Decisions include those of the
Disciplinary Tribunal (Law Society of Singapore)
Income Tax Board of Review
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
Military Court of Appeal
Strata Titles Boards.
Most decisions are not available in print.
Many are available via LawNet.
Several decisions are also freely available online.

16. The Case Citation A. What Is It?
Take note for Reported Citation
First page of a case from the Singapore Law Reports
Case name
Neutral citation
Headnotes (summary of case)

17. The Case Citation A. What Is It?
A case citation is a reference to a legal decision in the law reports.
It generally includes the
names of the parties to the case
year the case was decided (“( )”) or published (“[ ]”)
volume number of the law report
abbreviation of the law report series
first page at which the case is reported.
Civil case:
Anwar Siraj and Another v Ting Kang Chung John [2010] 1 SLR 1026
Criminal case: Public Prosecutor v Chew Suang Heng [2001] 1 SLR(R) 127

18. The Case Citation B. Neutral Citation
The neutral citation system is defined in s.74(8) of the Supreme Court Practice Directions as follows:
“A neutral citation is a Court-approved system of citation which is independent of the series of law reports or other publication, and unique to each written judgment. Each written judgment from a particular level of Court is assigned a sequential number, starting from 1 at the beginning of each calendar year.”
A similar definition can be found in s.73(1) of the State Courts Practice Directions.

19. The Case Citation B. Neutral Citation The neutral citation includes
names of the parties to the case
year of the court decision
court designator
Contains jurisdiction and level of court
SGCA – Singapore Court of Appeal
SGHC – Singapore High Court
SGDC – Singapore District Court
SGMC – Singapore Magistrates’ Court
sequential number
paragraph number(s)
Example
Public Prosecutor v Nguyen Tuong Van
[2004]
SGHC
54,
[1]

20. The Case Citation C. Citation Practice
According to s74(6) of the Supreme Court Practice Directions, counsel who cite a judgment must use the official series of the law report(s) or, if this is not available, any other law report series in which the judgment was published.
Local law reports are to be cited in order of preference as follows (refer to s74(6) for more details):
1. Singapore Law Reports (2010-)
2. Singapore Law Reports Reissue
3. Singapore Law Reports ( )
4. Malayan Law Journal.
Note: For the period , cite SLR(R) rather than SLR. Example. Bright Impex v Public Prosecutor
Cite [1998] 2 SLR(R) 961 rather than [1998] 3 SLR 405

21. The Case Citation C. Citation Practice
Also note: Cases reported in the Singapore Law Reports shall be cited using their Singapore Law Reports citations, in priority to their neutral citations (s74(8)(a)).
Example. Bright Impex v Public Prosecutor
Cite [1998] 2 SLR(R) 961 rather than [1998] SGHC 244

22. E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
How to Find a Case
If I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 1: Find out what law report the abbreviation stands for by checking an index to legal abbreviations
e.g. SSLR
Step 2:
Search LINC for the specific law report to determine its location in the library

23. How to Find a Case If I Have a Citation? Step 1.
Find out what “SSLR” in the citation stands for by consulting an index to legal abbreviations.
For law reports of Singapore, use Singapore Legal Abbreviations, published by the C J Koh Law Library.
The index shows that SSLR stands for the Straits Settlements Law Reports

24. E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
How to Find a Case
If I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2. Search for the law report in LINC.
Enter title of law report
Select Title from drop down menu

25. E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
How to Find a Case
If I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2 (contd)
Select relevant record

26. E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
How to Find a Case
If I Have a Citation?
E.g. Salmah v Chop Chin Guan Hong [1929] SSLR 172
Step 2 (contd)
The 1929 volume can be found in various locations in the Law and Central Libraries. But the most convenient locations for retrieval are the Legislation/Reports and Singapore-Malaysia collections in the Law Library.
Once you obtain the law report, turn to page 172 for the case.
Enter year of law report

27. How to Find a Case Online?
You may also obtain Singapore cases from full text databases. Databases are particularly useful when you only have partial citations or need to search for cases on a particular topic:
LawNet The only database that contains a comprehensive collection of Singapore cases. Access: NUS Law Resources
Lexis Advance Singapore Contains Singapore cases reported in the Malayan Law Journal from 1931 to Access: NUS Libraries E-Resources

28. E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
How to Find a Case
Online?
LawNet (via NUS Law Resources)
E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
Select LawNet

29. How to Find a Case Online?
E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
Enter NUS ID and password

30. E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
How to Find a Case
Online?
E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
After login, select:
1. Legal Research, followed by Basic Search
2. Enter name of party within quotation marks and the year case was heard
4. Click on Search
Unreported judgments
3. Tick possible relevant options
Decisions of boards, tribunals, etc.

31. E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
How to Find a Case
Online?
E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
Select relevant decision for full text
When you mouse-over the link, you will see that decision was given in 2010, although it was published in 2012

32. E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
How to Find a Case
Online?
E.g.1 Find the case heard in 2010 where one party was Ng Swee Hua
Reported citation
Neutral citation

33. E.g.2 Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122
How to Find a Case
Online?
E.g.2 Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122

34. E.g.2 Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122
How to Find a Case
Online?
E.g.2 Find the case with the neutral citation [2013] SGHC 122

35. UK Case Law
Lady Justice atop the Old Bailey courthouse in London
English case law has had a heavy influence on the development of Singapore law, especially in traditional common law areas.

36. Law Reports of UK A. Modern Reports The Law Reports (1865 - )
The official set of law reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales
Text of each report is reviewed by judges before publication. So, it takes between 10 and 14 months to report cases
The only set of reports that has a summary of the arguments of counsel
The Senior Courts of England and Wales, including the Crown Court, county courts and magistrates’ courts require that where a judgment is reported in the Official Law Reports that report must be cited. These are the most authoritative reports. See Practice Direction (Citation of Authorities) [2012] 1 WLR 780

37. Law Reports of UK A. Modern Reports The Law Reports (1865 - ) (contd.)
The 4 current series of the Law Reports are:
Title
Reports Decisions of …
Ref
Appeal Cases
(AC)
Supreme Court, Privy Council, Court of Justice of the European Union, (Earlier volumes - House of Lords)
K2022 4C
Queen’s Bench
(QB)
Queen’s Bench Division, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), Court Martial Appeal Court
K2022 2E
Family (Fam)
Family Division, Family Court, Court of Protection, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Ecclesiastical courts
K2022 1C
Chancery
(Ch)
Chancery Division, Court of Protection, Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
K2022 3B

38. Law Reports of UK A. Modern Reports The Law Reports (1865 - ) (contd.)
Ref: K2022 … Online: ICLR; Lexis Advance Singapore; WestLaw

39. Law Reports of UK A. Modern Reports
2. The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) ( )
Timely, full text reports.
Ref: K2020 WNR
Online: ICLR
3. All England Law Reports (All ER) ( )
Timely, full text reports; contains editorial notes.
Ref: K2020 AELR
Online: Lexis Advance Singapore

40. Law Reports of UK A. Modern Reports 4. Specialist series
Contain a selection of cases in a discrete practice area.
e.g. Lloyds Law Reports (maritime and commercial law)
Ref: K2020 LLLR Online: i-law
5. Newspapers
Brief, edited reports.
e.g. The Times Law Reports
Ref: K2020 TR/ K2020 TLR

41. Law Reports of UK B. Nominate Reports
The Nominate Reports refer to the various published reports of English cases from the Middle Ages to the 1860s. They are known by the names of the reporters and have been reprinted in:
1. The English Reports ( )
Most comprehensive compilation. 176 volumes of cases & 2 index vols.
Ref: K2020 ER
Online: HeinOnline
CommonLII (free access)
2. The All England Law Reports Reprint ( )
Criterion for inclusion: present day relevance or value to the legal profession.
Ref: K2020 AE/ K2020 AEE (extension volumes) Online: Lexis Library

42. The English Reports Ref: K2020 ER
Law Reports of UK
B. Nominate Reports
The English Reports Ref: K2020 ER

43. Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Examples of Case Citations
1. Civil cases
Sam v Atkins [2006] RTR 171
Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile v Sogemin Metals Ltd and others [1997] 2 All ER 917, [1997] 1 WLR 1396
2. Criminal cases
R v Campbell [1956] 2 QB 432; [1956] 2 All ER 272; [1956] 3 WLR 219
R v B (1990) Times, 1 March
In English cases, only surnames of the parties are used
“R” stands for Rex or Regina, depending on the reigning monarch at the time

44. Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Need a Print Copy?
Step 1:
Search an index to legal abbreviations to find out which law report the abbreviation stands for
e.g. WLR
Step 2:
Search LINC for law report by title to determine its location in library

45. Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
Indexes to Legal Abbreviations
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Online:
“Table of Abbreviations” in the first volume for the year in the Current Law Yearbook
Ref: KB3 CLY
Index to Legal Citations & Abbreviations (by Donald Raistrick, 3rd ed., 2013)
Ref: KB280 Rai 2013 (copy at Information Desk)
“Law Reports and Journals and Their Abbreviations” in Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
Ref: KB12 Osb 2013

46. Finding Cases with Citations
A. Law Reports
E.g. Use Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

47. B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Examples of Nominate Report Citations
Hall v Hall, 3 Sw. & Tr. 347
Horn v Quash, 1 Keb. 5
Kinshela v Lee, 7 Beav. 300
Lord Fairfax v Lord Derby & Al’, 2 Vern. 612
Uvedale v Halfpenny, 2 P Wms 151

48. B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
I. Need a Print Copy?
Use the indexes to the English Reports. These indicate the volumes of the English Reports in which the cases have been reprinted:
a. English Reports: Index of Cases (Vols. 177 & 178)
Alphabetical listing of cases. Use this if you know the name of the case, e.g. Alexander v Comber.
Ref: K2020 ER
b. English Reports Wall Chart
Use this when you only have the citation to the case, e.g. I Keb Location: On wall opposite Law Library Information Desk

49. Example. Using CommonLII
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
II. Searching Online
Example. Using CommonLII
Search for case by citation or case name in HeinOnline or CommonLII (free access).
Click on Database Search to search for a case
Or browse decisions

50. B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
II. Searching Online
Using CommonLII e.g. Williams v Byrne, 7 Ad. & E. 177
If you select Database Search, you can:
a. search by case name

51. B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
II. Searching Online
Using CommonLII e.g. Williams v Byrne, 7 Ad. & E. 177
b. search by citation

52. B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
Finding Cases with Citations
B. Nominate Reports/English Reports
II. Searching Online
Using CommonLII e.g. Williams v Byrne, 7 Ad. & E. 177
English Report citation
Click on link for PDF

53. Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Examples of neutral citations
A v Hoare and other appeals [2008] UKHL 6
Mealing (a child suing by her grandmother and litigation friend) v Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust [2008] EWHC 1664 (QB), [2008] All ER (D) 306 (Jul)
Home Office v Tariq [2011] UKSC 35
United Kingdom House of Lords
England & Wales High Court
United Kingdom Supreme Court
A neutral citation contains the jurisdiction of the court and court designator.

54. Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Example. Use BAILII
Free resources from other jurisdictions
E.g.
AustLII,
CanLII, HKLII
Case law search

55. Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Use BAILII e.g. Barnett & Ors v Nigel Hall Menswear Ltd

56. Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Use BAILII e.g. Barnett & Ors v Nigel Hall Menswear Ltd
Click on case for full text

57. Finding Cases with Citations
C. Neutral Citations
Use BAILII e.g. Barnett & Ors v Nigel Hall Menswear Ltd

58. Finding Cases with Citations
D. Using Databases
Major databases:
WestLaw
Access via NUS Libraries E-Resources
Lexis Advance Singapore
ICLR (covers the official Law Reports & WLR)
HeinOnline (English Reports only)
BAILLI Free website at

59. Alternative Citations
A. What Are They?
An important case may be reported in several places. There will be a different citation for each law report.
Examples:
David Wilson Homes Ltd v Survey Services Ltd (In Liquidation) [2001] EWCA Civ 34; [2001] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 449, CA; [2001] Build LR 267, 80 ConLR 8
Donoghue (or M’Alister) v Stevenson [1932] AC 562; 101 LIPC 119; 48 TLR 494; 37 Com Cas 350; 1932 SC (HL) 31
Note: Where a Law Report citation is available, the case should be cited from that source.

60. Alternative Citations
B. Finding Alternative Citations
One way to find alternative citations for UK cases is to refer to The Digest. This is a multi-volume set containing summaries of UK cases. The set is accompanied by the Consolidated Table of Cases, an index of all cases referred to in The Digest.
Ref: K2028 EED

61. Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Step 1. Refer to the relevant volume of the Consolidated Table of Cases
There are 3 index volumes (A-G; H-P; Q-Z). Search for the case in the relevant index volume. The volume of The Digest that contains the case is printed next to the case name.
Step 2. Look for the case in the “Table of Cases” in the relevant volume of The Digest
The case number is adjacent to the case name.
Step 3. Refer to the relevant case number
The paragraph provides a summary of the case followed by the citation(s) of the case.

62. Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 1. Refer to volume “A-G” of the Consolidated Table of Cases 2018.
Search for Donoghue v Stevenson in the alphabetical list. The table shows that the case summary can be found in Volume 35(3) on “Negligence”.
The case summary is located in Vol 35(3), Negligence

63. Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 2. Search the “Table of Cases” in Volume 35(3) for the case.
The case number in Volume 35(3) where the case summary can be found is indicated next to the case name.
Refer to para 1851 in Vol 35(3)

64. Alternative Citations
C. Using The Digest
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson
Step 3. Refer to paragraph 1851.
The paragraph provides a summary of the case followed by its citations.
Para 1851
Citations for Donoghue v Stevenson

65. Copyright © Allen Sng Kiat Peng Law Library Tours
In order to familiarise yourselves with the Law Library and be able to complete the Library Treasure Hunt, please attend the library tours.
Time slots for tours have been allocated by the Deputy Director (Legal Skills Programme) as follows:
10.30 – am (TGs 2, 3, 4, 7)
11.00 – 11.20am  (TGs 8, 13, 14, 15)
11.30 – 11.50am (TGs 16, 17, 18, 20)
1.00 – 1.20pm (TGs 1, 11, 6, 10)
1.30 – 1.50pm (TGs 5, 9, 12, 19)

66. Thank you! You have reached the end of this tutorial.
If you have any queries, or speak to a librarian at the C J Koh Law Library Information Desk:
For feedback, send an to: Su-Lin
Last updated 16 August 2019
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Updated © C J Koh Law Library