Common law has several aspects. In its purest form it consists of legal rules
made by courts. It also includes the interpretation of these rules by courts. In
its extended sense common law can refer to the interpretation of statutes by
courts, although these interpretations can also be conceived as part of statute
law.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources of law refer to the description and analysis of law in legal
texts. Examples are textbooks, encyclopedias, journal articles and loose leaf
services.
Secondary sources are highly valuable for learning law
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and working with law
because they organise, summarise, explain, criticise and analyse law. To put
the point simply, it is generally more efficient to use a textbook as the first
point of entry into an area of law (and for much later work as well) rather than
to distil the law from primary sources (which consist of the relevant statutes
and cases). Secondary sources of law make law more accessible.
Secondary sources of law can be written by anyone. Legal scholars or
academics write many of the published texts and articles because it is part of
their task. Judges and legal practitioners also write books and articles. For
example, leading practitioners in a field will often write or co-write a text on the
field. Often when they write an article it is in response to a major development
in the law, typically because a major case is decided or legislation is enacted or
amended.
Tertiary Sources
Tertiary sources refer to two types of materials –
published material that is
related to law and documents that lawyers create when they work with law.
(1)
Material Related to Law. Some publications are related to law as distinct
from just describing the legal rules. An example is a text that examines the
history, operation or policy of some part of the law. Another example is a
report by a law reform commission that analyses and proposes possible
changes to the law.
(2)
Working Documents. Tertiary
sources also include documents such as
letters, opinions, pleadings, contracts, wills and affidavits that lawyers generate
in the course of working with law. Most law firms will store these types of
Finn (1992), Rubin (1982), Kelly (1986), Calabresi (1982), Gunasekara and Sims
(2005), Stone (1936). Jamieson (1980) points out in forceful terms that there is a
separate common law in Scotland.
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In this regard it is worth noting a related point that law can also be
taught through literature – see Turner (1985). A good example is the role
of the comic opera writer Gilbert as a legal satirist – see Turner (1987-89).
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