Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases
Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases
Legal dictionaries and Words and Phrases can help you research the meaning of legal terms and the legal interpretation of legal words and phrases. This can help when you’re trying to interpret a statute for which there is no clear case law or if you’re trying to discern the meaning of a word in a key legal document, such as a contract or a will.
Legal Dictionaries
- Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
- Available via Lexis+ (law students only), the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students), and in print on the reference desk and in the reference section (available to all students)
- Dictionary of Canadian Law
- Available in print on the reference desk (available to all students)
- Black's Law Dictionary (American)
- Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only; click the International tab) and in print on the reference desk (available to all students)
Words & Phrases
- Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals (Canadian Abridgment)
- Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
- Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
- Available via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
- Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
- Available in print on the reference desk (available to all students)
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal Encyclopedias
Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.
There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.
Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge, while Halsbury's is available in Lexis+.
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
- Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
- Helpful titles include:
- Shipping (vol. 49 in print)
- Carriers (vol. 8 in print)
Halsbury's Laws of Canada
- Available via Lexis+ (law students only), the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students), and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
- Helpful titles include:
- Maritime (title code HMT)
- Transportation (Carriage of Goods) (title code HCG)
Books
Books
To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.
Items shown as LAW-RESERVE may be requested at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Law Library. Bring the book's call number with you to the desk. Items shown as LAW-STACKS are on the second floor, and LAW-REF materials are on the first floor in the reference section.
The following books may be useful in your research:
- Canadian Maritime Law, 2nd ed, edited by Aldo Chircop et al / LAW-STACKS KF1105 .G64 2016 and eBook.
- The International Law of the Sea by Yoshifumi Tanaka / LAW-STACKS KZA1145 .T36 2019 and eBook.
- Maritime Law Handbook by Hans-Christian Albrecht / LAW-RESERVE K1150 .M37 1987.
- Maritime Law, 2nd ed, by Edgar Gold, Aldo Chircop & Hugh Kindred / eBook only.
- Maritime Law, 4th ed, by Yvonne Baatz / LAW-STACKS KF1104 .M37 2018.
Journal Articles & Databases
Journal Articles & Databases
If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.
Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.
Key Legal Databases:
- Index to Canadian Legal Literature
- Available via Lexis+ (non-law UNB/STU use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
- Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
- Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
- Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
- LegalTrac
- Lexis+ (non-law UNB/STU use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
- Click Law Reviews & Journals
- Westlaw Edge (law students only)
- Click Articles and Newsletters
- HeinOnline
- Click Law Journal Library
Legislation
Legislation
Key Resources
The following databases and websites provide access to federal legislation.
- Lexis+ (law students only)
- Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
- Westlaw Edge (law students only)
- CanLII
- Justice Laws (federal legislation)
- LEGISinfo
- Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
Statutes
The following are a select number of federal statutes related to maritime law in Canada.
- Canada Marine Act, SC 1998, c 10.
- Canada Shipping Act, 2001, SC 2001, c 26.
- Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c F-7 (defines maritime law and sets out jurisdiction).
- Marine Liability Act, SC 2001, c 6.
- Marine Transportation Security Act, SC 1994, c 40.
- Pilotage Act, RSC 1985, c P-14.
Case Law
Case Law
Key Resources
The following databases and websites provide access to federal case law.
- Lexis+ (law students only)
- Non-law students use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
- Westlaw Edge (law students only)
- CanLII
- Federal Court of Canada
Cases Digests
Along with searching the databases mentioned above, you should use a case digest to find case law. A case digest service indexes cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your research topic, saving you hours of time.
Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.
- Canadian Abridgment Digests
- Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
- Useful titles include:
- Maritime & Admiralty Law (vol 76 in print)
- Canada Digest
- Available via Lexis+ and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
- Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
- Useful titles include:
- Canada Maritime and Admiralty Law Digest
Government Documents
Government Documents
Government departments and agencies publish a great deal of important law-related information. The Law Library's collection of printed government documents is located on the library's third floor. Use UNB WorldCat to search, or ask a library staff member for help.
The Harriet Irving Library also has government documents, which can be located through UNB WorldCat.
For government documents that are available online, try using UNB Libraries' Google Custom Search.
Note: if you include site:canada.ca (and/or site:gc.ca) and filetype:pdf in a Google search, you will retrieve PDF documents from Government of Canada websites. This is a good way to find government reports, as they are usually in PDF format.
The following government sites might be useful:
Websites & Blogs
Websites & Blogs
The following websites may be helpful for your research:
- AdmiraltyLaw.com
- United Nations: International Maritime Organization
- United Nations: Oceans and Law of the Sea
- United Nations Treaty Collection: United Nations Treaty Series
There are many blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms, and you can find many of them at lawblogs.ca, an open directory of Canadian blogging lawyers, law librarians, marketers, IT professionals, and paralegals. There are a few blogs listed in the maritime law category that might be helpful.
More Information More Information
- Nikki Tanner
- Reference/Instruction Librarian
- UNB Fredericton
- ntanner@unb.ca