Secondary Sources – Government Documents
Government agencies and bodies often issue publications, studies or critiques dealing with different legal areas and policies.
- Often these reports summarize large bodies of case law and legislation, and do so in a highly readable and accessible format.
Government documents and reports are incredibly useful research tools since they often provide in-depth analysis and interpretation of key statutes, and offer critical examinations and explanations of the judicial reasoning behind important rulings.
- Until 2006, the Law Reform Commission of Canada, for example, published reports that explained various areas of federal law.
Law reform commission reports generally provide an overview of a specific legal area, generally but not always, at the request of governments, and issue recommendations for adjustments or changes to the law.
- While these reports may be cited as persuasive authority, their authoritative weight varies and is dependent on both the context in which the report was written and whether or not the recommendations have, in fact, been adopted.
- Nevertheless, law reform reports are often heavily footnoted and are an excellent source for locating primary supporting authority or other useful secondary sources.
- It is worth noting that some law reform commissions operate outside of government and are funded and supported by a range of partners. The leading example is Ontario. The Law Commission of Ontario was established by the Deans of Ontario's law schools, the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. As a result, it exercises greater independence from government than the Law Reform Commission of Canada ever did.
Another important source that is commonly consulted by legal researchers and political analysts is Hansard, the official reporter of the debates of the House of Commons, the Senate of Canada, and the provincial and territorial legislative assemblies.
- The recorded transcripts of these debates can be critical when researching the legislative intent behind a particular act or section. Hansard will be covered in more detail in class and in subsequent modules.
