Annotated Acts

One extremely useful type of source for legal research is an annotated act. An annotated act looks at a piece of legislation and consolidates the interpretation of that section by section and sometimes they include expert commentary.

Annotated acts are not available for every piece of legislation, but when they are available, it is a great place to start. Most annotated acts are only available in print – some exceptions being the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Criminal Code. Check your local bar association, courthouse or law society library for annotated acts.

Sorry to all the students who have asked me for an annotated Alberta Insurance Act over the years. The only annotation of insurance legislation is Ontario specific.

Any authors out there?