Canadian Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias are a useful starting point for research since they provide a quick and current overview of the law. Encyclopedias organize and summarize the law by subject, and provide references to relevant primary sources.

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest

In Canada, there is only one legal encyclopedia: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (C.E.D.), which is published by Carswell. There are, however, two versions of the encyclopedia. The Ontario edition (Dig. Can. A2 C42) is bound in green. The Western edition (Dig. Can. A2 C44), which covers the four Western provinces, is bound in brown.

Composition of the C.E.D

• Main Work – The C.E.D. is organized alphabetically into “Titles” which correspond to broad legal topics. Titles are further broken down into paragraphs, which deal with particular points of law. Each paragraph is accompanied by footnotes, directing the reader to relevant statutes and case law.
• The main work of the C.E.D. is updated through the use of yellow supplements , which are inserted at the beginning of each title. If the title you are using has a yellow update supplement, check to see whether the paragraphs you are relying on have been updated. Match the relevant paragraph in the main work to the paragraph (if there is one) in the yellow supplement.
• Indexes – The General Index to the C.E.D. is published in a separate volume. There are also indexes at the end of each Title.

Key and Research Guide

The key is a useful starting point for entry into the main work. The Key provides the following indexes:

• Contents Key: Lists in alphabetical order all of the subject titles in the C.E.D., along with their corresponding volume and title numbers.
• Statutes Key: Lists in alphabetical order every statute referred to in the C.E.D., along with the paragraphs of the main work that mention a given statute.
• Regulations Key: Lists in alphabetical order every regulation referred to in the C.E.D., and cites the paragraphs of the main work that mention a given regulation.
• Index Key: This is a good place to start research if you are unsure of the appropriate subject title under which to proceed. The index lists issues and sub-issues alphabetically. Beside each entry is the volume and title number of the general subject under which the issue is classified. The volume number appears before the hyphen, while the title number follows the hyphen. Once you have identified the appropriate title, turn to the Table of Contents or Index of that title to look up the specific sub-issue that concerns you.

The C.E.D. on CD-ROM employs the Folio system. It consolidates the Ontario and Western editions, and incorporates supplements directly into the text.

Other Secondary Legal Sources

• Treatises
• Directories
• Handbooks, Practice Guides and Nutshells
• Digests
• Dictionaries
• Indexes
• Associations
• Other Online Research Guides
• Helpful Links and Canadian search engines

Resources

See Also

Secondary Sources

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This entry was last updated: April 22, 2016