Introduction
This guide was originally compiled to assist Law Library staff at Cardiff University deal with occasional enquiries from members of the public requesting assistance in tracing the documents relating to a particular case, frequently one heard and decided in one of the lower courts (i.e. below High Court level). The enquiries received usually concerned jurisdictions (that is, the geographical area over which the court's authority extends) in England or Wales. For this reason the guide focuses on these two areas only, to the exclusion of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The guide has been seen by Peter Keelan, a qualified archivist working in the University Library, and I am grateful to him for his comments. However, I expect there are others, both in the worlds of archives and law libraries who may be able to add to or correct what I have written. I welcome any contributions sent to me at ClinchPC@Cardiff.ac.uk which I will include in an updated version to be published in future.
The guidance has been gleaned from the following sources:
• National Archives <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/>
• Inner Temple: Transcripts of Judicial Proceedings in England and Wales: a Guide to Sources. Compiled by Sally Mclaren. February 2011. 166 pages. Available as a PDF document for a charge at <http://www.innertemplelibrary.org.uk/Transcripts/TranscriptsGuide.htm>
Transcripts are the verbatim record of what the judge said in giving his/her judgment. They do not include anything that was said in court before the judgment, nor do they contain procedural documents created during the court action. They are made by shorthand writers appointed by the Courts Service (an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice). The Inner Temple guide details which firms made transcripts in particular courts at different times since the early 1990s. Some transcripts will find their way onto free and reliable websites such as BAILII
<http://www.bailii.org/form/search_cases.html>
The period covered for each court on BAILII varies but goes back no further than the early 1990s. Commercial (subscriber-only) databases such as Lexis Library, Westlaw UK or Lawtel also carry transcripts, some going back to the early 1980s. Many transcripts remain with the firms of shorthand writers who made them and are not published on the internet. Be aware that many firms of shorthand writers destroy transcripts as soon as five to seven years after the judgment was made.
3 Also consulted was a Public Record Office (now National Archives) readers’ guide: Law and Society.
A register of local record offices is available at <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/?source=ddmenu_search2>
Key pieces of information to request from the enquirer
• Which court was involved?
• Year/approximate date of the decision?
Key information to give the enquirer
• The survival of records varies from court to court and period to period. In some instances only a selection of materials has been preserved, usually relating to more serious crimes, cases which attracted public interest or were of legal or historical interest.
• Under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) the majority of records held by the National Archives are subject to the 30-year rule that is, closed to the public for 30 years after the last date on the file. Certain records are closed for longer periods, usually 50, 75 or 100 years. Where files contain sensitive personal information relating to individuals who are probably living, some records are subject to extended closure.
Civil courts
Arranged in hierarchical order:
County Court
Where held: appropriate local record office. Use the National Archives Register <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/default.asp>.
In the ‘Corporate Name' box, type in either the name of the County Court or just the search term ‘County Court'.
Period held: from the inception of the court in 1846.
How to contact: follow links in results to details about the local record office.
Transcripts of judgments: Generally, contact the court – a few may be published on BAILII – see Inner Temple Guide at page 56.
High Court
Where held: National Archives, Kew.
Period held: a random sample of 2% of cases, together with those of historic interest. Confidential papers are closed for various periods.
How to contact: National Archives web address under County Court heading, above.
Transcripts of judgments: see Inner Temple Guide at pages 22 to 52.
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Where held and period covered: see National Archives Research Guide, Supreme Court: Appeal Cases after 1875 <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1> and follow the link to Research Guides.
Transcripts of judgments: from 1951, a transcript of every judgment delivered in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has been filed in the Supreme Court Library at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, where they are open to public inspection. Those for 1951–1980 have been published on microfiche by HMSO, together with an index of plaintiffs and defendants (not held by the National Archives Library). Many transcripts from 1980 onwards appear on the subscriber-only databases Lexis Library, Lawtel (with an ordering service available at extra cost for transcripts back to 1951) and Westlaw UK from 1999 onwards.
Also see Inner Temple Guide at pages 13 to 18.
Criminal courts
Arranged in hierarchical order:
Magistrates Court (replaced Petty Sessions in 1972)
Where held: appropriate local record office. Use the National Archives Register <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/default.asp>.
In the ‘Corporate Name' box, type in either the name of the Magistrates Court or just the search term 'Magistrates'.
Period held: subject to 30 year closure period.
How to contact: follow links in results to details about the local record office.
Transcripts of judgments: no formal record of proceedings is kept – see Inner Temple Guide at page 58.
Petty Sessions (replaced by Magistrates Courts in 1972)
As for Magistrates Court above but, when searching register, substitute ‘Petty Sessions’ for ‘Magistrates’.
Crown Court (replaced two separate courts: Quarter Sessions and Assizes, in 1972)
Where held: National Archives, Kew.
Period held: files subject to 30 year closure period. Some documents, for example, all indictments, and some case files still held by the Courts Service.
Also see the National Archives Research Guide, Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 1972: <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1> and follow the link to Research Guides.
How to contact: as for Magistrates Court above but, when searching register, substitute ‘Crown Court’ for ‘Magistrates’. So far very few records appear to have been transferred from the courts themselves to the National Archives.
Transcripts of judgments: transcripts of proceedings held at the National Archives are filed separately from the case file and not kept permanently, unless there was an appeal within five years of conviction, when long-hand notes of the transcript were made and may be found filed with the appeal case file; see the National Archives Research Guide, Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 1972: <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1> and follow the link to Research Guides.
Also see Inner Temple Guide at page 55.
Quarter Sessions (replaced by Crown Courts in 1972)
As for Magistrates’ Court above but, when searching register, substitute ‘Quarter Sessions’ for ‘Magistrates’.
Assizes in Wales (replaced by Crown Courts in 1972)
1543–1830
Note: Assizes held in Monmouthshire were part of the Oxford Circuit of courts and the records are held as for English assizes – see below.
Where held: National Library of Wales; assizes in Wales were held under the Great Court of Sessions up to 1830.
How to contact: See NLW web site <http://www.llgc.org.uk/>
1831–1971
Where held: National Archives, Kew
How to contact: National Archives web address above.
Assizes in England (replaced by Crown Courts in 1972)
Note: includes assizes held in Monmouthshire.
Where held: National Archives, Kew; assizes in England were organised into circuits.
Period covered: 1543–1971.
How to contact: National Archives web address above.
Central Criminal Court (also known as the Old Bailey)
The free web site Proceedings of the Old Bailey: 1674–1913 <http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/>
It contains a searchable database of the contents of the popular journal which recorded the proceedings in nearly 200,000 trials held at the Old Bailey.
For official documents in paper format:
Where held: National Archives, Kew; covers only the records of the Central Criminal Court from its establishment in 1834 onwards, to provide for the effective and uniform administration of justice in London. It now operates as a Crown Court, see above.
Period covered: 1834-, but only a selection of trials permanently preserved. Some material is subject to 75 year closure period.
How to contact: National Archives web address above.
Transcripts of judgments: see Inner Temple Guide at pages 53 and 54.
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and predecessors
See National Archives Research Guide, Supreme Court: Appeal Cases after 1875 <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1> and follow the link Research Guides.
Transcripts of judgments: see Inner Temple Guide at pages 19 to 21.
Other courts
Administrative tribunals
Where held: records of most held at the National Archives, Kew.
Period covered: varies.
How to contact: National Archives web address above.
Transcripts of judgments: Inner Temple Guide at pages 65 to 148.
Coroners court
The Coroners court is not a court of trial but of inquest, to determine the cause of death. It has its own rules of practice and procedure, distinct from the courts of trial. See National Archives Research Guide, Coroners’ Inquests <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/Default.asp?j=1> and follow the link Research Guides.
Where held: local record office. Use National Archives Register <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/default.asp>.
In the ‘Corporate Name' box, type in either the name of the Coroners’ Court or just the search term 'Coroners'.
Period covered: 1487-, but papers dealing with deaths are subject to a 75 year closure period.
How to contact: see under Where held and follow links within results.
Transcript of proceedings: The best source of information in the interim is the report of the inquest published in the local paper. The findings and proceedings of an inquest are not published in the manner of a transcript or law report, since the court is not a court of law. According to Jervis on Coroners 12th edition, the Coroners’ Rules require that an application to see documents relating to an inquest, has to be made to the coroner and then only those parties involved in that particular inquest, members of the family of the deceased for example, may be permitted access to those documents.
Ecclesiastical courts
These courts administer ecclesiastical law relating to the Anglican church. They do not cover matters relating to catholic or non-conformist congregations. They cover not only canon law (the canons or rules of the church) but also matters such as the granting of faculties for alterations to the fabric of church property.
Where held: advice and guidance should be sought from the Librarian at Lambeth Palace Library, London. Many records of ecclesiastical courts are held in diocesan record offices, some of which are also county record offices. However, records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury are at the National Archives, Kew, as also are appeals under the Benefices Act 1898.
