Secondary Sources – Legal Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias summarize large amounts of legal information and provide overviews of every kind of law imaginable!
Legal encyclopedias are organized using the following breakdown:
- Volumes;
- Subject Titles;
- Headings;
- Paragraphs;
- Sub-paragraphs;
- Sections; and
- Notes.
Encyclopedia entries are heavily footnoted and very effective at pointing you to relevant case law and legislation.
Due to the efficient organization and brevity of the entries, legal encyclopedias are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of a particular legal topic.
An understanding of the arrangement and categorization of legal subjects within an encyclopedia is critical!
- This knowledge will help you use the encyclopedias more efficiently and effectively.
The two Canadian legal encyclopedias are:
- the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (the CED); and
- Halsbury's Laws of Canada.