The English legal system has been producing law reports since time immemorial, and the Scots for even longer. These pages are full of codes making reference to such series, with their wonderful array of abbreviations. You cannot enquire about the law without beginning at least to understand and use them.
Here is a brief, but growing, guide.
Neutral Citations:
Neutral citations work, more or less by identifying the year, the court and the sequential number of the hearing. The neutral citation is now the preferred form where available.
| Abbreviation | Alternate | Title | Example | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC | Law Reports, Appeal Cases (Third Series) | [2014] 1 AC 1401 | ||
| ACD | Administrative Court Digest | Sweet and Maxwell | ||
| AlI ER (D) | All England (Digest) | [2003] AlI ER (D) 340 | ||
| All ER | AER | All England Law Reports | [2008] 2 All ER 44 | |
| All ER (Comm) | All England (Commercial) | [2003] 2 All ER (Comm) 276 | ||
| BCC | British Company Cases | [2002] BCC 256 | Sweet and Maxwell | |
| BCLC | Butterworths Company Law Cases | [2002] 1 BCLC 65 | Butterworth / Tolley | |
| BHRC | Butterworths Human Rights Cases | 14 BHRC 626 | ||
| BLGR | British Local Government Reports | [2008] BLGR 37 | ||
| BLR | Business Law Revw or Building Law Reports | [2012] BLR 546 | ||
| BMLR | Butterworths Medico-Legal Reports | (2009) 108 BMLR 1 | ||
| BPIR | Bankruptcy and Personal Insolvency Reports | [1996] BPIR 339 | ||
| BTC | British Tax Cases | [2001] BTC 292 | CCH | |
| Bus LR | Business Law Review | |||
| Bus LRD | Business Law Review Digest | [2014] Bus LR D9 | ||
| CCL Rep | Community Care Law Reports | (2001) 4 CCL Rep 398 | Legal Action Group | |
| CILL | Construction Industry Law Letter | [2006] CILL 2343 | ||
| CLC | Commercial Law Cases | [2007] 2 CLC 748 | Sweet and Maxwell | |
| CN | Tottel's Construction Newsletter | [2014] CN 1019 | Tottel | |
| COD | Crown Office Digest | Sweet and Maxwell | ||
| Comp AR | Competition Appeal Reports | [2016] Comp AR 33 | ||
| Con LR | Construction Law Reports | 184 Con LR 145 | ||
| Costs LR | Costs Law Reports | [2014] 2 Costs LR 266 | ||
| CP Rep | Civil Procedure Reports | |||
| Cr App Rep | Cr App R | Criminal Appeal Reports | [2000] 1 Cr App Rep 360 | |
| Cr App Rep (S) | Cr App R (S) | Criminal Appeal Reports Sentencing | [2000] 1 Cr App Rep (S) 497 | |
| CTLC | Consumer & Trading Law Cases | |||
| ECC | European Commercial Cases | [2012] ECC 15 | ||
| ECDR | Blair Co.L.R | European Copyright and Design Reports | [2008] ECDR 9 | |
| EG | Estates Gazette | [2001] 45 EG 142 | ||
| EGCS | Estates Gazette Case Summaries | [2001] 11 EGCS 172 | ||
| EGLR | Estates Gazette Law Reports | [2001] 3 EGLR 6 | ||
| El and Bl | (1857) 7 El and Bl 885 | |||
| EMLR | Entertainment and Media Law Reports | [2002] EMLR 839 | Sweet and Maxwell | |
| Emp LR | Employment Lawyer Reports | [2001] Emp LR 784 | Sweet and Maxwell | |
| EngR | English Reports | [1857] EngR 617 | ||
| Eu LR | European Law Reports | [2010] Eu LR 136 | ||
| EWCA | Court of Appeal (England and Wales) | [2014] EWCA Civ 132 | ||
| Extradition LR | Extradition Law Reports | [2007] Extradition LR 195 | ||
| Fam Law | Fam | Family Law | [2014] Fam Law 943 | |
| FCR | Family Court Reporter | [2014] 2 FCR 231 | Tolleys | |
| FLR | Family Law Review | [2007] 2 FLR 759 | ||
| FSR | Fleet Street Reports | [2013] FSR 35 | ||
| FTTTx | FTT | First Tier Tribunal (Tax) | [2014] UKFTT 342 (TC) | Bailii |
| HRLR | Human Rights Law Reports | [2007] HRLR 6 | ||
| ICR | Industrial Court Reports | [2014] ICR 713 | ||
| IL Pr | International Litigation Procedure | [2001] IL Pr 43 | ||
| Info TLR | InfoTLR | Information Technology Law Reports | [2011] Info TLR 75 | |
| Inquest LR | Inquest Law Reports | [2016] Inquest LR 47 | ||
| IRLR | Industrial Relations Law Report | [2008] IRLR 70 | Lexis Nexis | |
| ITELR | International Trust and Estate Law Reports | 13 ITELR 391 | ||
| JPL | Journal of Planning Law | [2008] JPL 519 | ||
| KIR | Knight's Industrial Reports | (1974) 16 KIR 158 | ||
| L and TR | Landlord and Tenant Reports | [2019] L and TR 13 | ||
| LGR | GLGR, LGLR, LGL Rep | Local Government Reports, Butterworths Local Government Reports | [1957] 55 LGR 595 | |
| Lloyd's Rep IR | Lloyds Report - Insurance Reports | [2008] Lloyd's Rep IR 413 | ||
| Med LR | Medical Law Reports | [2012] Med LR 123 | ||
| MHLR | Mental Health Law Reports | [2012] MHLR 94 | ||
| NI | Northern Ireland | [2014] NI 315 | Northern Ireland | |
| NPC | New Property Cases | [2001] NPC 48 | ||
| OPLR | Occupational Pensions Law Reports | [2003] OPLR 343 | ||
| P and CR | P and CR | Planing and Compensation Reports | [2009] 2 P and CR 16 | |
| Pens LR | Pensions Law reports | [2002] Pens LR 277, | IDS | |
| PIQR | Personal Injuries and Quantum Reports | [2014] PIQR P17, [1998] PIQR 324 | ||
| PNLR | Professional Negligence and Liability Reports | [1996] PNLR 91 | ||
| Po LR | Police Law Reports | [2006] Po LR 28 | Southside Legal Publishing | |
| PTSR | Public and Third Sector Reports | [2012] PTSR 633 | ||
| QB | Queens Bench | [2015] 1 QB 107 | ||
| RPC | Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases | |||
| RVR | Rating and Valuation Reporter | [2009] RVR 137 | ||
| SJLB | Solicitors' Journal LawBrief | (2007) 151 SJLB 676 | ||
| SLT | Scottish Law Times | |||
| STC | Simons Tax Cases | [2001] STC 1065 | Butterworths | |
| STI | Simon's Weekly Tax Intelligence | [2008] STI 186 | ||
| TC | Tax Cases | |||
| TCLR | Technology and Construction Law Reports | [2019] TCLR 3 | ||
| TLR | Times Law Reports | [1952] 2 TLR 809 | ||
| UKCLR | UK Competition Law Reports | [2009] UKCLR 657 | ||
| UKHRR | UK Human Rights Reports | [2007] UKHRR 621 | ||
| UKSC | UK Supreme Court | [2014] UKSC 29 | UK Supreme Court | |
| WLR | Weekly Law Reports | [1994] 1 WLR 917 | ||
| WLR(D) | WLRD | Weekly Law Reporst (Digest) | [2014] WLR(D) 218 | |
| WTLR | Wills and Trusts Law Reports | [2002] WTLR 769 | Legalease |
See Also: http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/ – the (excellent) Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations