There are two types of Law Report series, Authorised and Unauthorised.
- Authorised reports are published in a designated authorised report series for that jurisdiction. The published judgments have been reviewed by the presiding judge of the case and go through a process of annotation and review. These reports are the most authoritative report series and should be cited if they are available.
- Unauthorised reports are a legitimate record of the court decision and are often published in report series on specific areas of law, particularly those from tribunals and smaller courts. These report series are often published quickly and may be the only reported version until the authorised version is available.
If there is an authorised version of a judgment available, this should be cited in preference to the unauthorised version.
How do you know if it is authorised?
Check the list of authorised law reports