Theoretical overview
Importance of legal research
The legal research usually covers topical issues and in most instances answers questions on a law-related matter. It is essentially about understanding statutes, laws, cases, regulations, and their applications.
A law student should learn about research to critically analyze information on a variety of legal issues.
Legal research is also important for a lawyer, who should be familiar with those areas of law in which he claims to have the expertise as a real-life problem solver. There is no denying that a lawyer should provide competent representation to a client.
Legal research is critically important for initiating legal reform and change in society.
It can be as simple as examining and explaining new statutes and statutory schemes or as complex as explaining, interpreting and criticizing specific cases or statutes.
The research finding is applied in advising courts or clients about the application of the legal doctrine to specific cases, transactions, or other legal events. It may also criticize judicial opinions and in the case of conflicts between the decisions of a different court, suggests the resolution to those conflicts.
Sources of legal research:
Primary Source
Primary authorities are the rules of law that are binding upon the courts, government, and individuals. Examples: constitutions, statutes, regulations, treaties, court orders, administrative regulations, policy material.
Persuasive Primary Source
Commentaries on the law that do not have the binding effect but aid in explaining what the law is or should be. Examples: primary authority, which is not binding on the courts, viz. opinions of the judges, attorney General, law minister, a ministry of parliamentary affairs, primary authorities from a foreign jurisdiction.
Secondary Source
Commentaries, law journals or periodicals, articles, textbooks, a legal encyclopedia, legal dictionary, annotations, legal opinions, surveys, legislative history Secondary sources are important in legal research because they point the researcher to primary sources of the law
Points to remember
- A law student should learn about research to critically analyze information on a variety of legal issues
- Legal research is critically important for initiating legal reform and change in society.
- There are primary and secondary sources of legal research.
