Use this form to search within CaseBase Case Citator.

• General help
• Search Form Fields
• Search examples:
  • Find a case when you know one or both of the parties
  • Find a case when you have part of the citation
  • Search for cases on a particular topic or issue
  • Find cases considering legislation
  • Find a case on a particular issue when all you know is the judges name
  • Limit your search to just cases

General Help

Make this my start page

Click this link so that next time you log in to the system, the CaseBase search form will be the first page you are presented with.
 

Search Terms

To search generally across CaseBase, enter your search terms in this field, using connectors to show the relationship between the terms.
 

Search Tips

Click this link to view examples of connectors you can use in your search.
 

Search

To begin the search, click the Search button.
 

Save This Search

After entering your search terms, click this link to reuse the search in the future.
 

 

Sources

The default source to search is a combination of the Case and Journal entries within CaseBase. ie CaseBase Cases and Journal Articles. To search only the journal entries, choose CaseBase Journal Articles. To search only case entries, choose CaseBase Cases.
 

Source Information Icon

To learn more about the contents of a source, click the icon to the left of the source links. The document that appears generally explains such things as: available segments, information on data updates, coverage/span, source overview, copyright and publisher information, etc.

   

CaseBase - Search Form Fields

Case/Article Name

This field is used to find a case or article when you know one or more of the parties in the case, or part of the article title. Use the and connector to separate the party names or the key terms of the article title. Note: This field will also search the ‘popular’ name of a case eg aboriginal carpet case, Tasmanian Dams.

Example: To find the case entry of Wakim v McNally: wakim and mcnally
Example: To find articles with the title of privacy and corporations: privacy and corporations

Citation

Enter the case or article citation. You can ignore brackets and other punctuation, and use connectors to separate multiple citations. This can be used to locate a case by name if you only know its citation, and to also check whether the case is now reported if you only have the unreported citation or ALR reference.

Example: To find the cases where the citation for the case is (1999) 163 ALR 270: 1999 163 ALR 270

 

 

References to Legislation

Use this field to find cases that have judicially considered specific legislation or articles discussing the legislation.  Type in the title of the legislation followed by the connector w/p then the provision number.

Example: To locate cases dealing with the Corporations Act and s 588G: corporations act w/p 588G

Example: To locate cases dealing with a subsection of legislation eg s 115(2) of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth): copyright act w/p 115(2)

Catchwords/Summary

The Catchwords are the main areas of law discussed in the case or article. The Summary is a brief outline of what the case involved, statements from judgment, and the outcome, or for journals, a brief outline of what the journal discusses. To restrict your search to the catchwords/summary information of the CaseBase entry, enter your search terms in this box.

Example: To find cases dealing with occupiers and liability: occupier and liab!

Note: Due to the autosearch of plurals and 's, this search will find occupier and occupier's.
The use of ! is to locate variable endings to the word. ie liability, liable

Words & Phrases

Use this field to search for cases where a word or phrase has been judicially defined.  This is different to catchwords, as the catchwords are issues litigated upon in the case, where the words or phrases is where that particular word or phrase was given a definition by the judges in the case. This is useful when legislation is ambiguous.

Example: To locate cases defining the meaning of "public street": public street

Judge

Use this field to restrict your search to cases heard by a particular judge or articles written by a particular author. Enter the judge's or author's surname in the panel.

Example: To locate judgments by Justice Kirby: kirby

 

Clear Form

Click this link to reset the form with default settings.

Related Searches

To the left of the search form, you will find links to related searches, including Cases, Australian Current Law - Reporter and Australian and New Zealand Citator to UK Reports. Please note that these links will depend on your subscription entitlements.

Search Examples

How do I find a case when I know one or both of the parties?

Example: Find the case that involved Byrne Frew and Australian Airlines

1. In Case/Article Name type   byrne and australian airlines
2. Click on the Search button.

How do I find a case when I have part of the citation?

Example: Find a case when you know that it was in 1993 and in the ALRs and was page 54 or 55

1. In Citation type 1993 and ALR 54 or 55.
2. Click on the Search button

How do I search for cases on a particular topic or issue?

Example: Find cases dealing with contributory negligence and the failure to wear a helmet

1. In Catchwords/ Summary type contributory negligence and helmet.
2. Click on the Search button.

How do I find cases considering legislation?

Example: Find cases that consider s 180 of the Corporations Act (Cth)

1. In the References to legislation, type in the legislation title and provision number separated by the w/p connector. Where the jurisdiction is important select jurisdiction in combination with this search.
   corporations act w/p 180

How do I find a case on a particular issue when all I know is the judges name?

Example: Find refugee cases heard by French J

1. In Catchwords/ Summary type  refug! Note the use of the ! to find refugee or refugees.
2. In Judge type  French.
3. Click on the Search button.

Note: If you also knew the month and/or year of the decision you were looking for, you could enter that information in the Specify Date panel to further narrow your search.

How do I limit my search to just cases?

From the drop-down list of Sources, select CaseBase Cases. Note: If you select a particular court or jurisdiction, it will also only search for cases in that court or jurisdiction. Then enter your search terms in the required boxes.