Internet Newsletter for Lawyers
November/December 2003, by Delia Venables

Electronic Session Cases launched by Context
Note from Anthony Kinahan

Robert Reid’s magnificent Upper Signet Library in Edinburgh saw the launch on 13 October by Context of Electronic Session Cases. During the past year The Scottish Council of Law Reporting has developed a database of its Session Cases law reports back to 1930. This database has been licensed to a number of online data providers, including Context. Context are the first information provider to include Session Cases amongst their services and have now launched Electronic Session Cases as a library within their Justis range of electronic Products.

Speaking at the launch John Elliot, Chairman of The Scottish Council of Law Reporting (SCLR) welcomed the new service and acknowledged the significant financial support that the Council had received from the Faculty of Advocates. This support enabled the SCLR’s data capture exercise to be extended back in the archive to 1930. The SCLR is a non-profit making body, founded in 1957 to manage the publication of Session Cases, Scotland’s ‘official’ and most authoritative series of law reports. This leading status of Session Cases was reaffirmed in 2002 by Lord Reed in his judgment in at Lloyd’s (2002 SC 638). It is the Council’s plan to extend coverage of the Session Cases database back in time as funds become available.

Also being launched this week is the SCLR’s website. Features of this new site include an extensive selection of web links provided by Derek O’Carroll, advocate, intended to direct Scottish lawyers and those interested in Scots law to some of the most useful law resources available on the Internet. Comments and suggestions on this feature of the SCLR website will be received gladly.

Another feature of the SCLR website is the development of a number of free information resources on leading Scottish cases ~ in particular those that have had an impact throughout the Common Law world. The first of these is Donoghue v Stevenson and a unique feature of the website is the facsimile reproduction of the Session Papers, the case papers including the pleadings and submissions of the parties to that ground breaking decision.

Anthony Kinahan is Publishing Consultant to the SCLR. Email anthony.kinahan@btopenworld.com.

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