legal research Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a prob ...

, a primary authority is a term referring to statements of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

that are binding upon the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, and individuals. Primary authority is usually in the form of a

document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

that establishes the law, and if no document exists, is a

legal opinion In law, a legal opinion is in certain jurisdictions a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Opinions are in those jurisdi ...

of a court. The search for applicable primary authority is the most important part of the process of legal research. The term "primary authority" is used to distinguish primary authority materials from texts considered to be

secondary authority In law, a secondary authority is an authority purporting to explain the meaning or applicability of the actual verbatim texts of primary authorities (such as constitutions, statutes, case law, administrative regulations, executive orders, trea ...

Examples

Examples of primary authority include the verbatim texts of: *

Constitutions A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

; *

Basic law A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law designed to have the effect of a constitution. The term ''basic law'' is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution" and may be inte ...

s; *

Statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

s (whether codified or uncodified); *

Treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

and certain other

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

materials; *

Municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

s and ordinances; * Court opinions; *

Books of authority Books of authority is a term used by legal writers to refer to a number of early legal textbooks that are excepted from the rule that textbooks (and all books other than statute or law report) are not treated as authorities by the courts of England ...

; * Rules of court procedure; *

Rules of evidence The law of evidence, also known as the rules of evidence, encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. These rules determine what evidence must or must not be considered by the trier of fa ...

; * Rules governing the conduct of

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

; * Administrative

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

; *

Executive orders ''Executive Orders'' is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on July 1, 1996. It picks up immediately where the final events of '' Debt of Honor'' (1994) left off, and features now- U.S. President Jack Ryan as he tries ...

. Verbatim re-prints by private commercial law publishing companies are also considered primary authority, as long as the document purports to be and actually is a verbatim re-print of the applicable document, statute, regulation, court opinion, etc. Many lawyers, legal scholars, government agencies and others use verbatim re-prints of texts published by private publishing companies.

Other uses

Primary Authority can also refer to the scheme, created by the British Government, for Local Authority Regulators to provide businesses with tailored advice on regulatory matters. The formal relationship where a business or organisation works together with a Regulator under the scheme is referred to as a '
Primary Authority Partnership.
''

Notes

References

* Statsky, W. (1997). Introduction to paralegalism: perspectives, problems, and skills. 5th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company. Law of the United States Legal research {{law-stub