1. Accessing Reliable Legal
Resources
for LGST101 Business Law
Yuyun Wirawati
Research Librarian, Business & Law
Jan 2013

2. You will learn how to locate...
 Case Law (Singapore & UK) using LawNet
 Singapore Legislation using Singapore
Statutes Online

6. Case Law

7. Introduction to Case Law
 What is Case Law?
Written record of the courts‟ decisions

8. Case Name
Consists of the names of the parties involved
Civil Case
Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd.
Criminal Case
Public Prosecutor v PDM International Pte Ltd
The case name alone is often not enough. There is no indication of the date,
where it was reported, or which case in particular is being referred to (there may
be more than one case)

9. Understanding
Reported Case Citations
[2004] 2 SLR (R) 594
Year Volume Reporter Pg
The citation tells us that the case may be
found in vol 2 of the Singapore Law Reports
(Reissue) for 2004, starting on page 594.

10. Accessing
LawNet through PYXIS+

11. Locating LawNet

12. LawNet

13. LawNet

14. LawNet Homepage

15. Finding a case by citation
Chwee Kin Keong and others v Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd
[2004] 2 SLR (R) 594

16. Citation Search
[2004] 2 SLR (R) 594
Select “Singapore
Law Reports
(Reissue)”
Enter the Year, the
Vol. and the Page
no.

17. Search Citation Results

18. View Case as it Appears in the
Published Reporter
Retrieve the PDF

19. Anatomy of a Reported Case:
Case Headings
Reporter Information
Case Name
Court Name Neutral Citation
Judge(s) or Suit or Application No. of Case
Judicial
Hearing Date(s)
Commissioner(s)

20. Anatomy of a Reported Case:
Editorial Content
Catchwords
Summary of Facts of the Case
Summary of Holdings

21. Anatomy of a Reported Case:
Editorial Content & Judgment
Cases referred to
Legislation referred to
Judgment

22. Understanding
Neutral Citations
[2005] SGCA 2
Singapore Neutral
Citations:
SGCA – Court of appeal
Year of decision Court Sequential Number SGDC – District Court
SGFC – Family Court
SGHC – High Court
The citation above tells us that this was the
2nd case in 2005 in the Singapore Court of Appeal. SGJC – Juvenile Court
SGMC – Magistrates Court
SGSC – Supreme Court
SGSCT – Small Claims
This is a system of citation where each written Tribunal
judgment from a particular level of court is assigned
a sequential number, starting from 1 at the beginning
of each calendar year.

23. Finding a case by neutral citation
Gay Choon Ing v Loh Sze Ti Terence Peter
[2009] SGCA 3

24. Search by Neutral Citation
[2009] SGCA 3
Select “Neutral
Citation”
Enter the Year, the
Court. and the
Case no.

25. Search Citation Results

26. View Case
Retrieve the PDF

27. Finding English Cases on LawNet
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company
[1893] 1 QB 256

28. The Law Reports
List of Titles in the Series
The Law Reports are published by The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England & Wales

29. Searching the Law Reports
[1893] 1 QB 256
Select
“The Law Reports”
Enter the Year, the Volume
number, the specific Title
abbreviation from the Law
Reports series and the Page
number.

30. Results List

31. View Case
Retrieve the PDF

32. Legislation

33. Singapore Laws
 Statutes /Acts
 Over 500 statutes/acts listed under “current acts” in LawNet
 Each Act is given it‟s own chapter number. („cap‟ for short)
 E.g. Companies Act, Cap 50
 Subsidiary Legislation
 While Acts deal with broad legal principles, Subsidiary
Legislation deals with details such as procedures, admin
matters, technical standards, etc.
 E.g. Companies (Application of Bankruptcy Act Provisions)
Regulations, Cap 50, Section 411

34. Finding Legislation

35. Singapore Legislation
 Available through LawNet
 Available on Statutes Online through
Attorney-General‟s Chambers website
(http://statutes.agc.gov.sg)

36. Legislation Access using LawNet

37. Singapore Statutes Online
(statutes.agc.gov.sg)

38. Searching by Chapter Number of Act
Companies Act (Cap 50)
Select Current Acts
Enter the Chapter No

39. Viewing the Act
Viewing sections: Tick the
section and click Get
Provisions
Click Whole Document to
view entire Act

40. Viewing a Section

41. Browsing by Act Title
Contracts (Rights of Third Parties)
Browse
Select All Acts
Click the letter C “By Title”
to browse all Acts starting
with C

42. List of Acts starting with ‘C’

43. Viewing the Act

44. Other Acts You Will Likely Discuss
 Computer Misuse Act (Cap. 50A)
 Minors‟ Contracts Act (Cap. 389)
 Misrepresentation Act (Cap. 390)
 Sale of Goods Act (Cap. 393)
 Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332)
 Unfair Contract Terms Act (Cap. 396)

45. Finding Subsidiary Legislation

46. Finding Subsidiary Legislation
Sale of Food (Food Establishments)
Regulations Cap 283, Regulation 5
Select Current Subsidiary
Legislation
Select S from the
alphabetical list

47. List of Subsidiary Legislation starting with
‘S’

48. View Subsidiary Legislation

49. Preventing Technical Issues with LawNet
Always click on LOGOUT before closing
browser or problems WILL occur
Check Library FAQ
(libfaq.smu.edu.sg)
if you need further
info

50. Business Law (LGST101)
Research Guide
http://researchguides.smu.edu.sg/business_law

51. Exam Papers
library.smu.edu.sg > Collections > e-Examination Papers

52. Contact Library
library@smu.edu.sg
Phone: 6828 0355
Yuyun‟s email:
ywirawatii@smu.edu.sg