Law Journals in Nineteenth-Century England
| Published date | 01 January 2008 |
| DOI | 10.3366/E1364980908000061 |
| Pages | 26-50 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Author | Stefan Vogenauer |
The first edition of
(1827) 1
In a country which boasts of the richness and variety of its Periodical Literature, where almost every branch of science and every sect has its subsidiary journal, it is somewhat singular that Jurisprudence, a science in itself so interesting, and in its application so closely connected with the well-being of society, should be absolutely without any regular organ of communication with the public. Such, however, is the case with respect to England.
(1827) 1
(1827) 1
Even in its first page,
Today, however, there is at least one area of common ground between English and continental jurisdictions: the sources are not yet sufficiently researched, although in continental systems there have been some preliminary studies.
Cf M Stolleis, “Juristische Zeitschriften – die neuen Medien des 18.-20. Jahrhunderts”, in M Stolleis (ed),
J D Vann and R T Van Arsdel (eds),
See e.g. J H Baker (ed),
See W S Holdsworth,
D B Maggs, “Concerning the extent to which the law review contributes to the development of the law” (1930) 3
R A Cosgrove, “Victorian legal periodicals” (1975) 8
N Duxbury, “When we were young: notes in the
D Ibbetson, “Legal periodicals in England 1820-1870” (2006) 28
This paper is concerned with English legal journals. The position in Scotland is analysed by Reinhard Zimmermann in a companion article.
Published at 9 above.
Irish law reviewsFor the nineteenth century see the
At the outset it is helpful to distinguish journals from other forms of legal literature present in England in the nineteenth century.
Distinguishing law journals from the publication of statute law raises no difficulties. On occasion, important pieces of legislation were published in law journals in whole or in part. But as a general rule primary legislation (Acts of Parliament), secondary legislation (orders and statutory instruments) and byelaws were published in separate collections. The English legislator's traditional verbosity had already precluded the overall coverage of legislation in journals: the space which was available would simply not have sufficed.
The distinction between legal journals and collections of decisions is perhaps less clear. A legal system that recognises case law as a primary source of law must attach great importance to the recording of court decisions. This is particularly so if the decisions are regarded as binding, not only on lower courts but also on courts at the same level, a view that emerged relatively late and did not gain full acceptance in England before the first third of the nineteenth century or even later.
For a detailed discussion, with further references, see S Vogenauer, “Zur Geschichte des Präjudizienrechts in England” (2006) 28
See the literature cited in n 6 above.
Typical law reports of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries consisted of a collection of decisions recorded by a particular court reporter in different courts, or issued by a particular court or judge and recorded by different reporters. A variety of forms existed alongside each other, varying from short overviews akin to headnotes, to longer summaries, to word-for-word reports of judgments. Many of these collections appeared as periodicals, although they...
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