What is The Weekly Law Reports (WLR)?
- The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) are published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR).
- They have been in circulation since 1953.
- WLR is one of the most authoritative sources of English case law.
- It is widely used in the UK and Commonwealth countries, including India.
What Does WLR Cover?
WLR includes key judgments from:
- The House of Lords (now the UK Supreme Court)
- The Privy Council
- The Court of Appeal
- All Divisions of the High Court
- The Ecclesiastical Courts
- The Employment Appeal Tribunal
- The Court of Justice of the European Community
These cases help shape common law across jurisdictions.
Subscription Period
- Subscriptions to The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) run from January to December.
- New subscribers will receive all issues published since the beginning of the subscription year.
Publication & Binding Format
- WLR is published in approximately 45–48 parts per year.
- These are designed to be bound in 5 volumes as follows:
Volume Breakdown
- Volume 1 (has 3 parts): Covers cases of general interest.
- Volume 2 (January–June):
- Volume 3 (July–December): 2nd and 3rd volumes cover the cases which will subsequently appear with the reporter’s notes of argument in The Law Reports.
What Makes WLR Important?
- It is published weekly, ensuring up-to-date reporting.
- The judgments are carefully edited and verified.
- Each report includes headnotes and legal summaries.
- WLR is trusted by lawyers, judges, and academics.
What are Law Reports (LR)
The Law Reports, again published by ICLR represent the benchmark in law reporting.
They typically cover cases that:
- Introduce new principles or rules of law, or
- Modify significant existing laws
They are the only series of law reports that include arguments of counsel, making them a uniquely authoritative resource.
Courts Covered
The Law Reports cover cases heard in:
- Appeal Cases in the House of Lords and Privy Council
- Queen’s Bench (QB)
- King’s Bench (KB)
- Chancery Division (Ch)
- Family Division (Fam)
Key Features
- First published in 1865
- Focus on landmark cases that shape or evolve legal doctrine
- Considered the most authoritative law report of English cases
- Preferred by legal practitioners in the UK and Commonwealth countries
- Unique for including the arguments of Counsel, unlike The Weekly Law Reports
Role of Eastern Book Company (EBC)
- In India, Eastern Book Company (EBC) plays a key role in distributing WLR and LR
- EBC makes WLR and LR available through its platforms, including SCC Online.
- This helps lawyers, students, and researchers access English case law easily.
- EBC supports comparative legal studies and research in common law systems.
Publication Format
Published monthly on a calendar-year basis
Divided into three sections:
- Appeal Cases (AC) – House of Lords & Privy Council
- Queen’s Bench Division (QB)
- Chancery and Family Divisions (Ch and Fam)
Volume Breakdown
- The paperback issues are bound into volumes at the end of every year.
- The entire content is compiled into 5 volumes annually.
- These volumes are organized based on the different international courts covered in The Law Reports.
Availability
The Law Reports are available for sale in the following regions:
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, and Bhutan only.
