LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING

KHANSA WASEEM
What is Legal Research?
Legal research refers to the process of gathering information
and data related to a legal question or issue. It involves the
search for relevant legal materials such as statutes, cases,
regulations, and legal commentary, in order to analyze and
apply the law to a specific legal problem or issue.

Legal research has two fundamental dimensions:

1. Creative : Legal research is creative as it entraps interpret
theories, concepts, rules, or rules, creates new knowledge.
2. Non-normative: Research should not reproduce the text of
the law rather, it should state what ought to be done
according to the legal point of view within a particular legal
system. it establishes the norms that apply to a particular
legal system.
Research Methodology:

Research in national and international law are similar in their

basic requirements:

1. You need a research question; there are basically three

families of research questions: i. descriptive research
questions, ii. normative research questions, and iii. critical
research questions.
2. You need to understand the problem you are approaching
(both in terms of the legal doctrine and its underlying
theory),
3. You need a method to answer your question. and
4. You need to rely on primary and secondary sources.
Sources of Legal Research:

• Primary sources: These are the original sources of law, which

include constitutions, statutes, regulations, and case law.
Primary sources are authoritative and have the force of law.
• Secondary sources: These are sources that provide
commentary and analysis on the law, such as law review
articles, textbooks, dictionaries and legal encyclopedias.
• Online databases: These are digital collections of legal
materials, such as Pakistan Law sites, Courts websites,
LexisNexis, etc. These databases provide access to a wide
range of legal materials, including primary sources and
secondary sources, and are often updated in real-time.
Sources of Legal Research:

• Government websites: Federal, and local government

websites provide access to a variety of legal resources, such as
statutes, regulations, and court opinions.
• Law libraries: Law libraries contain collections of legal
materials, both in print and electronic formats. These libraries
may be located in law schools, courthouses, or public
libraries.
• Legal blogs: These are blogs that cover legal news, analysis,
and commentary, often written by legal professionals and
scholars. While not authoritative sources of law, legal blogs
can be useful for gaining insights into legal issues and
controversies.
Modes of Legal Research:

1. Manual Research:

 Law libraries,
 Law Reviews and Journals,
 Law digests,
 Law dictionaries,
 Commentaries,
 Court records offices, etc.
Modes of Legal Research:

2. Online Research:
Some online resources for legal research in Pakistan include:
 Pakistan Law Site (https://www.paklaws.com/): This website
provides access to the Constitution of Pakistan, as well as
federal and provincial laws, rules, and regulations.
 Legal Research Center Pakistan (https://www.lrpk.com/): This
online database provides access to a variety of legal materials,
including case law, statutes, and legal articles.
 Punjab Laws Online (https://punjablaws.punjab.gov.pk/): This
website provides access to the laws and regulations of the
Punjab province of Pakistan.
Modes of Legal Research:

 Sindh Laws (http://www.sindhlaws.gov.pk/): This website

provides access to the laws and regulations of the Sindh
province of Pakistan.
 Pakistan Legal Decisions (http://www.pld.com.pk/): This
website provides access to court decisions, including the
Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and high courts.
 National Assembly of Pakistan (http://www.na.gov.pk/): It
provides access to the text of bills and acts passed by the
National Assembly, as well as parliamentary proceedings and
debates.
 Supreme Court and High Court websites.
Modes of Legal Research:

Some international sources for legal research include:

 Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/): This search
engine provides access to scholarly articles, case law, and legal
journals from around the world.
 WorldLII (http://www.worldlii.org/): The World Legal
Information Institute provides free access to legal databases
from around the world, including case law, legislation,
treaties, and law reform reports.
 HeinOnline (https://home.heinonline.org/): This database
provides access to a wide range of legal materials, including
law journals, treaties, case law, and legislative histories from
around the world.
 IHL Database:
Modes of Legal Research:

 The International Association of Law Libraries (IALL)

(https://www.iall.org/): The IALL is an international
organization that provides access to legal information and
resources from around the world, including a directory of law
libraries and legal databases.
 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) (https://www.icj-
cij.org/en): The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations and provides access to case law and other legal
materials related to international law.
 The United Nations Legal Database (https://legal.un.org/):
This database provides access to international law documents,
including treaties, case law, and other legal materials related
to the work of the United Nations.
Google Search Tricks :

Use quotation marks: If you are researching the case of

Pakistan and India and need information on the issue of
territorial dispute, Use quotation marks around "Pakistan v.
India territorial dispute”. This tells Google to search for the exact
phrase rather than just the individual words, which will lead to
more relevant search results.

Use the minus sign: If you're looking for information on

copyright law but don't want results related to copyright
infringement, you could type "copyright -infringement" into the
search bar. This will exclude any results that include the term
“infringement“.
Google Search Tricks :

Use site search: if you want to search for news articles about
politics on the Dawn newspaper website, you could type
“politics site:dawn.com” into the search bar.

Use "site:" and a country code to explore sources from a

particular place: if you're interested in finding information on
Afghan refugees specifically from sources based in Pakistan, you
can use search it as, site:pk “Afghan Refugees”.

Use "OR" to get options: If you're looking for information on

climate change. Some sources might refer to climate change as
"global warming," so your search could look like this: climate
change OR global warming.
Guidelines for Assessing Legislation:

• Jurisdiction: Legislation must be from the relevant jurisdiction

where the dispute is taking place and must be in force.
• Hierarchy of Legislation: It must be taken into account, and
regulations, rules, or bylaws must not be in conflict with the
statute.
• Amendments: The legislation must not have been repealed or
amended to the extent that it is no longer applicable to the
current situation.
• Historical context: The law may existed in the past, even if it is
no longer in effect, to better understand the current legal
framework.
Guidelines for Assessing Precedents:
• Binding v. Persuasive precedent: Binding precedents from
higher courts carry more weight than persuasive precedents
from lower courts or from courts in other jurisdictions.
• Number of judges on the bench: Precedents from benches
with more judges may carry more weight.
• Timeline: Precedents that are more recent may carry more
weight than older precedents.
• Role in developing jurisprudence: Precedents that have
played a significant role in the development of jurisprudence
in a particular area of law may carry more weight.
• No. of times the case has been cited with approval:
Precedents that have been cited with approval in subsequent
cases may carry more weight.
Conclusion.. .
Steps for Conducting Effective Legal Research:

 Begin by identifying the scope of the legal question at hand.

 Determine the relevant jurisdiction and any specialized terms
that may be involved in the matter.
 Consult secondary sources such as journal articles and blog
posts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
 Study all relevant legislation and identify applicable provisions
of law.
 Study the jurisprudence developed on those provisions of law.
 If the meaning of a particular provision is unclear, consult
legislative debates and statements of purpose to understand
the intent behind its enactment.
Conclusion.. .
Steps for Conducting Effective Legal Research:

 Study commentaries to gain a historical and comparative

perspective on the law.
 Identify relevant case precedents, and differentiate the ratio
decidendi (the binding part of the judgment) from obiter
dictum (remarks made in passing).
 Take note of any tests or standards developed by the courts.
 Track shifts in jurisprudence to understand how the law has
developed over time.
Best Practices for Effective Legal Writing:
• Gather all your research work.
• Brainstorm before writing.
• Use headings and subheadings to break up the text.
• Use clear and concise language.
• Organize your writing logically and coherently.
• Avoid excessive use of legal jargon or Latin phrases.
• Use proper citation format.
• Proofread your work carefully for errors in grammar,
punctuation, and spelling.
• Avoid plagiarism by properly citing all sources.
• Be mindful of your audience and purpose.
• Edit and revise your work multiple times to ensure clarity and
effectiveness.
THANK YOU!