The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR) is a registered charity based in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
. The company is widely recognised as a reputable producer of reports (and the only 'official' source), which are used by
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject.
In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...
s,
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
s,
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
s,
lawyer
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 w ...
s and
judge
A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
. The council was incorporated under the
Companies Act 1862
The Companies Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. 89) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating UK company law, whose descendant is the Companies Act 2006.
Provisions
*s 6 'Any seven or more persons associated for any lawful purpos ...
in 1870.
Largely working "as a private enterprise without state aid or interference", the council "was not intended to be profit making except in so far as it was necessary to make it self-supporting." Working on this principle, the council applied in 1966 for registration to become an official charity under section 4 of the Charities Act 1960 ( 8 & 9 Eliz. 2. c. 58). Upon rejection by the Charity Commission the council appealed under section 5(3) of the 1960 act, an action granted by Mr Justice Foster in the Chancery Division of the High Court. On appeal by the Inland Revenue to the Court of Appeal, who were joint defendants with the Attorney General, it was held that "the Council was established for exclusively charitable purposes since its purpose was to further the development and administration of the law and to make it known or accessible to all members of the community, which was a purpose beneficial to the community and of general public utility." In 1970, then, the ICLR was successfully registered as a charity in England and Wales.
Currently chaired by Richard Fleck CBE, the ICLR's council consists of members nominated by each of the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the City of London#Boundary, western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City,
Objectives and procedures
According to the company's
memorandum of association
The memorandum of association of a company is an important corporate document in certain jurisdictions. It is often simply referred to as the memorandum. In the UK, it has to be filed with the Registrar of Companies during the process of incorp ...
, the ICLR was established with the following principal aim:
The ICLR also has a set of criteria for law reporting, originally proposed by Nathaniel Lindley (who later became
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...
and subsequently a Lord of Appeal), which said that care should be taken to exclude from the reports those cases that passed without discussion and were valueless as precedents, and those that were substantially repetitions of earlier reports to which was added the following list of valuable (and thus worthy of reporting) categories:
Publications
The primary series of reports published by the ICLR is The
Law Reports
A or is a compilation of judicial opinions from a selection of case law decided by courts. These reports serve as published records of judicial decisions that are cited by lawyers and judges for their use as precedent in subsequent cases.
Hi ...
, which the council maintains are "'the most authoritative reports' and should always be 'cited in preference where there is a choice'." This series is divided into four main sub-series:
*Law Reports, Appeal Cases (AC), covering decisions of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
(and, since 2005, the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
), the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal – started in 1866 as the Law Reports, English & Irish Appeals, renamed in 1875 and redesigned in 1891;
*Law Reports, Chancery Division (Ch), covering decisions of the Chancery Division of the High Court – started in 1865 as the Law Reports, Chancery Appeal Cases, renamed in 1875 and redesigned in 1890;
*Law Reports, Family Division (Fam), covering decisions of the
Family Division
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...
of the High Court – started in 1865 as the Law Reports, Probate & Divorce Cases, renamed Law Reports, Probate, Divorce & Admiralty Division in 1875, renamed Law Reports, Probate in 1891 and renamed in 1972; and
*Law Reports, Queen's Bench (QB), covering decision of the
Queen's Bench Division
The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts.
It hears appeals on point ...
of the High Court – started in 1865, renamed Law Reports, Queen's Bench Division in 1875, renamed in 1891, renamed Law Reports, King's Bench in 1901 and renamed in 1952.
Additional reports published by the ICLR include The Weekly Law Reports (W.L.R.), started in 1953 and covering what the ICLR describe as "the cases that really matter, which either develop the law in some way or introduce a new point of law"; the Industrial Cases Reports (I.C.R.), started in 1975 and covering cases of
employment law
Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...
heard in the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the
Employment Appeal Tribunal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions ...
and the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
, as well as "cases of special interest" from the Privy Council, the
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
and employment tribunals; The Business Law Reports (Bus. L.R.), started in 2007 and covering
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
,
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
and
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
law; and The Public and Third Sector Law Reports (P.T.S.R.), started in 2009 and covering issues such as
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
, charity,
ecclesiastical law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
,
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
,
environmental law
Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...
,
health law
Health law is a field of law that encompasses federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence among providers, payers and vendors to the health care industry and its patients, and delivery of health care services, with a ...
,
housing
Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
,
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
,
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
,
public health law
Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve public health, the health of the general population within societal limits and norms. Public health law focuses on the duties of the governmen ...
and
social welfare
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...
.
It also published annual volumes of U.K. legislation from 1866 to 2010.
Most of its reports were available electronically o Westlaw an LexisNexis until the beginning of 2017, when the ICLR instead published its reports exclusively on its platform.