Research Glossary
Abbreviations / Citations
Many textbooks, journals, law reports and updating services use abbreviations to refer to law reports and journals. Abbreviations can be converted into their full title using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviation site. Search here for abbreviations to titles and vice-versa. The Cardiff Index also lists the preferred citation where it has been stipulated by the publisher.
Commencement Dates
An Act is enacted on the date it is signed into law by the President. Some or all of the provisions of the Act may be subject to a commencement provision which states the date of commencement or empowers a Minister to make commencement orders to specify the commencement date for the provision(s) to come in to force at a later date. If the Act, or selected provisions of the Act, is silent as to their commencement the Act, or selected provisions, come in to law on the day the Act was signed by the President.
Commercial Database
Commercial databases are those that require subscriptions to access. The content of each is different and is determined by the licences and agreements which the particular provider has made with the original publishers of the information that is contains. Examples include Westlaw UK, Westlaw IE, Lexis Library, BetterRegulation and Justis. Contact Ann O’Sullivan, Knowledge Services Manager at annosullivan@algoodbody.com for information and advice on the best commercial service to fit your need.
Consolidated Legislation
Consolidated legislation is a version of legislation that incorporates any amendments that have been made since enactment. Consolidated versions of selected Irish legislation are available through the commercial databases Westlaw IE and Better Regulation. The Law Reform Commission (LRC) has produced over 370 frequently used Acts as ‘Revised Acts’, they are available at on their website. A consolidated version from any source must be checked for currency. Other than certified revised Acts from the LRC, consolidated versions are not official versions of legislation.
Court Rules
The Superior, Circuit and District Court Rules are available online through the Courts Service website. The Rules are not consolidated but links to amendments are included in each Order.
Dáil and Seanad Debates
When working with an Act it may be helpful to read the Oireachtas debates that preceded its adoption. The debates are available on oireachtas.ie. The Minister’s second stage speech is generally helpful as it provides an official statement of what the Bill is intended to achieve. The proceedings of the Committee stages are also useful. It is worth remembering that the content of the Bill may change significantly between the second and final stages. When searching the Dáil and Seanad debates for the debate on a particular Act, you need to use the name and year of the Bill, rather than the final name and year of the Act e.g. Companies Bill 2012 became the Companies Act 2014.
Directive
A Directive requires Member States to implement or fulfil certain objectives by a certain point in time. Copies of Directives from 1988 on are available here. Directives are available as enacted, but amendment details and consolidated versions (where available) can be accessed under the ‘document information’ tab. Directives are often transposed in Ireland by Statutory Instruments.
High Court Search
This website allows users to search the High Court case tracking system. The system contains details of all cases issued in the High Court since August 1993 and is updated daily. The information available includes: the record number of the case; the names of the parties; the solicitors firm representing the parties; court listings; documents filed and; a list of orders made; judgment dates.
Neutral Citation
Neutral citations uniquely identify judgments independently of any series of reports, and cite only parties, year of judgment, court and number. The neutral citations found on Irish cases are IESC, IEHC and IECCA. The IE part denotes that the case is Irish and the remaining letters denote the Court. SC is Supreme Court, HC is High Court and CCA is Court of Criminal Appeal. A full citation reads [2016] IEHC 558.
Official Gazettes
Official gazettes are issued by the governments of many nations and bodies such as the European Union. The official gazette of the Irish government is the Iris Oifigiúil. It is the means used by the Government for announcing appointments to public offices and publishing proclamations; statutory instruments; appointment of receivers to companies; etc. Iris Oifigiúil is published every Tuesday and Friday afternoon and is available for free online at www. irisoifigiuil.ie. It is particularly useful as a means of monitoring new secondary legislation published. The Official Journal is the official gazette of the European Union. The L series contains EU legislation including Regulations, Directives, Decisions, Recommendations and Opinions. The C series contains reports and announcements including the judgments of the European Court of Justice and the General Court. The Official Journal is available here.
Practice Directions
Practice Directions complement the rules of court. They are issued to inform parties what the court expects of them in respect of the practice and procedure of the courts. An archive of Practice Directions is available on the Courts Service website. The directions are generally published in the Legal Diary and in the Law Society Gazette.
Primary & Secondary Sources
The primary sources of domestic law are the Constitution, Acts of the Oireachtas and case law. Domestic secondary legislation is usually in the form of Statutory Instruments (SIs) and includes ministerial orders, regulations, rules, bye-laws and schemes.
Primary sources of European Union law consist of the founding treaties, the treaties between Member States and the treaties between the EU and third parties. Other sources of EU law are secondary legislation (regulations, directives and decisions) and opinions of the Court of Justice.