Legal dictionaries & encyclopaedias
Key resources
Legal encyclopaedias provide a concise and comprehensive overview of all major legal subject areas.
- good starting point, gain a quick understanding of the legal principles involved in an area of law
- discover legislation and cases to follow up on
- discover new terminology - useful when you search for further information (e.g. journal articles on AGIS, judgments on FirstPoint,etc.)
Dictionaries & encyclopedias
- provide statements of legal principle, search for case, legislation references or by subject area
- information is arranged systematically, with case and legislation references
Use the activity below to practice finding information in Halsbury's Laws of Australia
Databases:
- Halsbury's Laws of Australia (Lexis Advance Pacific)Legal Encyclopaedia: Halsbury's Laws of Australia presents principles of law in a succinct propositional style, supported by extensive references to Australian legislative and judicial authorities. Updated Regularly
- Laws of Australia Online (WestlawAU)The Laws of Australia provides legal practitioners with a clear and concise statement of each principle of Australian law. These principles are illustrated with examples, usually including the leading relevant case or a legislative provision, placing the law in its practical context.
- Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary (Online - Lexis Advance Pacific)A comprehensive encyclopaedic online dictionary defining legal words and phrases and providing the case or statute law authorities for the definition. Also includes a Table of popular Australian case names; Prime Ministers; Justices of the High Court of Australia; and Table of Abbreviations.
- Macquarie Dictionary (Online)The Macquarie Dictionary Online is updated annually, making it the most up-to-date Australian dictionary and thesaurus available online.
- Library SearchUse Library Search to find items
Books:
Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary by Call Number: Law Library Books K120 B988c.3ISBN: 0409321230Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law by ISBN: 1781006105Publication Date: 2012-10-31Covers questions regarding the methodology of comparative law, specific areas such as admin and criminal law, and reports on a selected set of countries' legal systems.
Black's Law Dictionary, Standard Ninth Edition by ISBN: 9780314199492Publication Date: 2009-06-25This ninth edition offers more than 45,000 legal definitions containing an additional 2,000 new terms, nearly 3,000 quotations from legal authorities, and selected terms with their date of origin in American and/or British opinions.
Australian Law Dictionary by ISBN: 9780195518511Publication Date: 2014-02-01The Australian Law Dictionary is a key reference for those who need familiarity with, and knowledge of Australian legal terms most commonly encountered when studying law and in the profession.
The New Oxford Companion to Law by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780199290543Publication Date: 2008-11-15Providing greater depth than can be found in legal dictionaries but always accessible to the non-specialist, entries in the Companion cover all areas of lawand legal systems and are extensively cross-referenced for ease of navigation.
Encyclopedia of Law and Society by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781452265544Publication Date: 2007-07-10The Encyclopedia of Law and Society is the largest comprehensive and international treatment of the law and society field. With an advisory board of 62 members, from 20 countries across six continents, the three volumes of this state-of-the-art resource represent interdisciplinary perspectives on law from sociology, criminology, cultural anthropology, political science, social psychology and economics.
- Bouvier Law DictionaryA law dictionary adapted to the constitution and laws of the United States of America and of the several states of the American Union by John Bouvier Revised Sixth Edition, 1856
- Duhaime's Law DictionaryWell researched, written in plain language and freely available.
- Lectric Law Library's Legal Lexicon's LyceumThousands of definitions and explanations of legal terms, phrases & concepts
- International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law Online This link opens in a new windowThe International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law Online offers full-text searching across all archival content published over the last three decades, and is a systematic and international compendium of comparative law. It incorporates detailed descriptions of the legal systems of more than 150 countries and a documented comparative analyses of the main issues in civil and commercial law and related issues world-wide.
- Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law by ISBN: 1781006105Publication Date: 2012-10-31Covers questions regarding the methodology of comparative law, specific areas such as admin and criminal law, and reports on a selected set of countries' legal systems.
World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations by Call Number: Law Library Reference (not for loan) K112 K21wISBN: 9781575883830Publication Date: 1991-02-01This dictionary is divided into different language and/or country sections. It is designed to enable the reader of foreign law and legal literature to ascertain the precise meaning of abbreviations and acronyms as they appear in the material which he or she is studying. In addition, the set has been further expanded with the inclusion of abbreviations by subject.
- Last Updated: Dec 4, 2023 3:29 PM
- URL: https://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/Legal_dictionaries_and_encyclopaedias
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Subjects: Law