What is Case Law?

Case Lifecycle:

Before you explore Case Law in depth, let's explore the Lifecycle of a Case and have a look at the journey a Case takes, before it is given a Citation and before it becomes Reported somewhere! Cases are heard in Courts and when a matter is finalised, in most instances, the text of the decision is usually published very quickly on the Court webpage. The Judgment appears online first, on the respective Court website and the Court allocates the Case a medium neutral citation (a Court given citation). These Judgments are referred to as Unreported Judgments and the accompanying citation is an Unreported Case citation (more on this later in the Case Citations tab!).

Here a few examples of Court websites: 

• High Court of Australia (HCA)
• Federal Court of Australia (FCA)
• Western Australian Supreme Court (WASC)

Soon afterwards, these Unreported Judgments are also made available in a variety of legal Databases, including AustLII, Lexis+ and Westlaw AU.

But down the track, an Unreported Judgment may subsequently be published / reported in one (or more) Law Report Series. This can happen if the Case is deemed important by the Judges, or the Case changes a significant point of law. The publisher of the Law Reporter, allocates a Reported Case citation. You will find out more about where a Case can be published / reported, in the Law Reports tab!

So in terms the Lifecycle of a Case, here are some 3 very important points:

1. Cases are always born Unreported and ....
2. They are “published” online first, by the Court (or Tribunal) on their respective website and given a medium neutral citation (Unreported citation). Not long after, they are made available in Unreported Judgment Databases. 
3. If the Unreported Cases are deemed important enough by the Judges, they are then published / reported in a Law Report. Cases can even be published in several Law Reports! They are given a Reported citation by the publisher. This Reported citation is unique to the Case. 

Here is a diagram that illustrates the lifecycle of a case: 

(Fig 1. Images generated using Microsoft Edge's Copilot, powered by DALL·E from the prompt "can you create infographic that depicts the lifecycle of a case: a case is always born an unreported case and is “published” by the Court on the respective website first. if the case is deemed important enough by the judges, they are then published in one, or several Law Reporters.")

Now that you know more about the Lifecycle of a case, continue reading to find out about Reported and Unreported Case Citations. You can think of Case citations as Case addresses, as you will need to use various elements of a Case citation to help you locate a Case!  

(Please note: Decisions of lower Courts might not be published on their website. When this happens with cases heard in the Magistrate's Court of Western Australia, it is necessary to contact the Court, to obtain decisions).

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