Halsbury's Laws of Canada
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada is a comprehensive national encyclopedia of Canadian law, published by LexisNexis Canada, which includes federal, provincial and territorial coverage. It is the only Canadian legal encyclopedia covering all fourteen Canadian jurisdictions. Following an alphabetized title scheme,1 it covers 119 discrete legal subjects. Individual titles range from 50 to 1,000 pages.
Written by leading practitioners, jurists and academics, Halsbury’s Laws of Canada is an authoritative exposition of Canadian statutes, regulations and case law. It provides definitive information about black-letter law, without opinion or commentary, and without archival cases or outdated statutory references.2 Statutory material and case law are drawn together within a narrative text to provide a clear exposition of the current law of Canada.
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada is written in a clear and accessible style, suitable for users ranging from first-year law students to experienced counsel. Each subject title is, as far as possible at the time of publication, a complete statement of Canadian law on that topic as of the currency date specified at the beginning of the title.
The commentary is set out in numbered paragraphs, summarizing the applicable statutes and leading cases from every Canadian jurisdiction. Each numbered paragraph is followed by extensive footnotes. The footnotes provide full citations to the authorities summarized in the commentary. They also contain any qualifications, exceptions, ancillary matters, and helpful comments on areas of uncertainty.
Each Halsbury’s Laws of Canada title is updated annually by way of a cumulative supplement, and thoroughly revised and reissued every four years. The main work and the supplements are available both in print3 and online.4
History
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada was first published in 2006. It is the Canadian equivalent of Halsbury’s Laws of England, which began publishing in 1907.
Editions
The First Edition was completed in 2012. It originally consisted of 76 print volumes. Halsbury’s Laws of Canada currently comprises 72 print volumes and 119 discrete titles.
Features
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada contains helpful cross-references to numbered paragraphs, both within each title and between titles. Each title contains a variety of useful appendices, from glossaries consolidating key statutory definitions to indexes and selected secondary sources. Each title also contains comprehensive tables of cases, statutes and statutory instruments, as well as general, detailed and sectional tables of contents, an ambit section, a statement of currency, a list of related titles and references and abbreviations.
A Companion Guide and Consolidated Index, published separately, combines all information from individual title indexes in the main work, making it possible to locate where a particular subject is discussed without knowing within which title it falls, and to find every reference to that subject within the main work.
Authorship
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada provides authoritative expert commentary by many of Canada’s leading legal subject matter experts. They include Master Linda S. Abrams, Peter A. Downard, Professor Bruce Feldthusen, the Hon. Stephen E. Firestone, the Hon. Stephen Goudge, Alan D. Gold, the Hon. Roger T. Hughes, Ian Hull, the Rt. Hon. David Johnston, Professor Bruce MacDougall, the Hon. Graeme Mew, Ruth Sullivan, Lorne Waldman and Professor Janet Walker.
Titles
The Halsbury’s Laws of Canada collection currently includes the following titles:
Aboriginal
Access to Information and Privacy
Administrative Law
Agriculture
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Athletics
Aviation and Space
Banking and Finance
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Business Corporations
Cemeteries and Interment
Charities, Associations and Not-For-Profit Organizations
Civil Procedure
Commercial Law I: Agency /Auctions /Bailment /Betting, Gaming and Lotteries
Commercial Law II: Bills of Exchange /Consumer Protection /Sale of Goods
Communications
Compensation and Rights of Crime Victims
Competition and Foreign Investment
Condominiums
Conflict of Laws
Constitutional Law – Charter of Rights
Constitutional Law – Division of Powers
Construction Law
Contracts
Controlled Drugs and Substances
Copyright
Criminal Offences and Defences
Criminal Procedure
Crown
Customs and Excise
Damages
Debtor and Creditor
Defamation
Discrimination and Human Rights
Education
Elections
Employment
Environment
Equitable Remedies
Estoppel
Evidence
Expropriation
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance
Family
Firearms, Weapons and Explosives
Fires
Food
Forestry
Gifts
Guarantee and Indemnity
Holidays
Hospitality
Hunting and Fishing
Immigration and Citizenship
Income Tax
Income Tax
Income Tax
Infants and Children
Inquests, Coroners and Medical Examiners
Insurance
Interim Preservation of Property Rights
Judges and Courts
Labour
Landlord and Tenant
Legal Profession
Legislation
Legislatures
Limitation of Actions
Liquor Control
Maritime Law
Media and Postal Communications
Medicine and Health
Mental Health
Military
Mines and Minerals
Misrepresentation and Fraud
Missing Persons and Absentees
Mortgages
Motor Vehicles
Municipal
Occupations and Trades
Oil and Gas
Partnerships
Patents, Trade Secrets and Industrial Designs
Penitentiaries, Jails and Prisoners
Pensions
Personal Property and Secured Transactions
Planning and Zoning
Police, Security and Emergencies
Public Health
Public Inquiries
Public International Law
Public Utilities
Real Property
Receivers and Other Court Officers
Religious Institutions
Restitution
Roads, Highways and Bridges
Securities
Social Assistance
Taxation
Taxation
Technology and Internet
Torts
Trademarks, Passing Off and Unfair Competition
Transportation
Transportation
Trusts
Vital Statistics
Weights and Measures
Wildlife, Livestock and Pets
Wills and Estates
Workplace Health and Safety
Youth Justice
Related Publications
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada has counterparts in several common law jurisdictions, including Australia, England, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
References
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Country Canada
Language English
Subject Law
Publisher LexisNexis Canada
Publication 2006 to Present
Editors in Chief
David Keeshan: 2006 – 2011; Jay Brecher: 2011 – 2016; Shirley Margolis: 2016 – Present