29 Online Commentaries (Looseleaf Services)
Kate Thompson and Melanie Lovich
Online commentaries are publications that provide up-to-date analysis of statute law, written by legal practitioners who specialise in a particular area of law. They are also known as loose-leafs and typically include:
- legislative extracts;
- annotations to legislation;
- recent case law;
- commentary (an analysis of the law written in a similar style to a textbook).
The benefits of commentaries include:
- currency – updated to reflect new developments;
- insight – contains expert analysis of legal concepts and legislative provisions;
- comprehensive coverage –
- assemble important information relevant to a field of law within the one product;
- include relevant legislation and key case law in full-text or extract format (or link to these primary sources).
Using Online Commentaries
Check your university library for access to online commentaries. Access may only be via subscription law databases. Online commentaries are regularly updated so they are a good source to check for any changes to the law in a particular practice area. They are particularly useful for problem questions involving factual scenarios; for example, for explanations of the elements of criminal offences, an outline of the effects of specific contractual terms or discussion of the courts’ interpretation or application of complex sections of legislation.
To use online commentaries, browse the table of contents or index as a starting point and search across these products using keywords. Online research using the main law databases in New Zealand may provide direct linking to relevant commentary on that specific section of law.
