Learning Outcomes
By the end of this article, you will be able to identify and apply reliable legal authorities, use citators to check the status and treatment of cases, determine if legislation is in force, and trace amendments or commencement dates. These skills are core to justifying advice, drafting, and litigation tasks assessed in SQE2.
SQE2 Syllabus
For SQE2, you are required to understand authority validation and correct citation. You must be able to:
- distinguish between primary and secondary sources and recognise authoritative versions
- use citators to check if a case is still “good law” or has been overruled, considered, or approved
- confirm the status and commencement of legislation
- check for amendments and repeals in both primary and secondary legislation
- properly cite authorities in written advice and advocacy tasks
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- What is the main purpose of a legal citator?
- Which phrase signals that a case has negative judicial treatment in a citator?
- What does “commencement” of an Act mean in legal research?
- Which subsections of the Court’s hierarchy of reports are preferred for citation in written answers and advocacy?
Introduction
When providing advice or making submissions in SQE2, you must reference only authoritative sources. This includes checking if a case remains “good law”, identifying how it has been treated by later courts, and confirming whether legislation is in force and up to date. Failure to properly validate and cite authority can result in poor advice or wasted effort.
Validating Case Law: Using Citators
Legal citators are essential when researching authority for advice or submissions. They help you verify if a case is still reliable, or if it has been weakened by later decisions.
Key Term: citator
A legal tool—print or electronic—listing cases, their citations, and how later courts have treated them. Used to check if a case remains good law.
Judicial Treatment Codes
Cases are frequently subject to further judicial comment. Citators use standard phrases to indicate how later courts have considered a case:
Key Term: subsequent treatment
The way later judgments have commented on or applied an earlier case, e.g. “applied”, “distinguished”, “overruled”, or “approved”.
Codes often used in citators include:
- Applied: followed in materially similar circumstances.
- Distinguished: found not relevant on the facts.
- Overruled: expressly rejected as incorrect.
- Followed: adopted as correct in similar facts.
- Approved: positively endorsed.
- Considered/Mentioned: discussed in the judgment without clear approval/disapproval.
Worked Example 1.1
You find a case that supports your client's argument in the All England Law Reports. Your supervisor asks if it has since been overruled. How do you check, and what do you look for?
Answer:
Check a citator such as Westlaw’s “Case Analysis” or LexisLibrary’s “Case Overview”. Look for statements like “overruled,” “not followed,” or a red status warning. Review any later cases with negative judicial treatment. Only rely on the decision if it remains “good law”.Key Term: good law
A case or statute considered reliable as authority, not overruled or fundamentally disapproved by a higher court.Key Term: negative judicial treatment
When a later court has overruled, reversed, or seriously doubted an earlier decision, reducing its value as precedent.
Using Online Citators
Most SQE2 practical work now assumes online, not print, research:
- Westlaw “Case Analysis” and Lexis “Case Overview” show later citing cases, their status, and summaries using keywords.
- Status icons (green/amber/red) or words (“overruled”, “distinguished”) indicate reliability.
Exam Warning
Always double-check the judicial status of any authority you intend to cite. Merely finding a case “on point” is insufficient; you must confirm it remains “good law”. Do not refer to authorities that have since been overruled, unless explaining the evolution of the law.
Understanding Commencement and Amendments in Legislation
Legislative research does not end at locating an Act or SI. You must check:
- Has the Act or section come into force?
- Has it been amended or repealed?
Key Term: commencement
The legal date when a statute (or a specific section) becomes effective and has legal force.Key Term: amendment
A change to primary or secondary legislation by a later Act or SI, which may add, delete, or modify provisions.
Sources for Status and Commencement
- Lexis and Westlaw both provide section-by-section notes announcing commencement, amendments, or repeal.
- “Is It In Force?” (Lexis) and “Legislation Analysis” (Westlaw) are the standard tools for checking section status.
Statutes: Confirming the Law In Force
- Acts often come into force in sections, sometimes years apart.
- Commencement Orders (statutory instruments) bring sections into effect.
- Repeals and amendments are usually detailed in footnotes or notes attached to the section in online legal databases.
Worked Example 1.2
You want to know if section 22 of the Fraud Act 2006 is currently in force. What steps do you take to confirm?
Answer:
Access the Act via Westlaw or Lexis. Locate section 22, then review the “Commencement Information” or “Legislation Analysis” and footnotes. Look for “in force” status, the date of commencement, and check for any amendments or repeals affecting the section.
Tracing Amendments
- Footnotes or “annotations” in online or updated print sources will reference any amending or repealing legislation.
- Any text inserted by an amendment appears in square brackets; repealed text is usually replaced with three dots (“…”).
Revision Tip
When tracing statutory amendments, always check both the “main volume” and any “cumulative supplement” or online status snapshot. Do not rely on the first version you find.
Citing Correct Authority: Report Hierarchy and Neutral Citations
Citing the correct version of a judgment is also assessed on SQE2.
Key Term: neutral citation
A unique identifier for a case assigned by the court (since 2001), independent of the report or publisher. Shows year, court, and case number.
For SQE2, prefer (in order):
- Official Law Reports (e.g. AC, QB, Ch, Fam)
- Weekly Law Reports (WLR)
- All England Law Reports (All ER)
- Specialist law reports (e.g. ICR, FLR)
- Unreported transcript cited by neutral citation
- Other sources, only if above not available
Always include a neutral citation when available, e.g., [2022] EWCA Civ 22.
Worked Example 1.3
You found a 2017 Court of Appeal judgment only as an unofficial transcript. The same case is in the Law Reports. Which should you cite in SQE2, and why?
Answer:
Cite the Law Reports version, not the transcript. The Law Reports are the most authoritative series, preferred by the courts and examiners. Reference the neutral citation first.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- A citator is used to check if a case is still reliable and has not been overruled or treated unfavourably by later cases.
- Judicial treatment codes in citators (“applied”, “distinguished”, “overruled”, etc) indicate the current authority of a case.
- The hierarchy of law reports requires you to cite the most authoritative available.
- Neutral citations are used for all cases decided since 2001 and should be included in written and advocacy tasks.
- To determine whether a section of an Act or SI is in force, always check current status, commencement orders, and footnote annotations.
- Amendments or repeals are detailed via footnotes, annotations, and online status notes in trusted legal reference tools.
Key Terms and Concepts
- citator
- subsequent treatment
- good law
- negative judicial treatment
- commencement
- amendment
- neutral citation