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Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a comprehensive resource for decoding legal abbreviations used in law reports, journals, and publications.
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Find Cases
For students and researchers with less experience in legal research, identifying the appropriate database to locate a specific law report can be challenging. We recommend conducting a Law Report Title search using Find@HKUL, as this will guide you to the relevant database. Please follow the steps outlined below. We use the following case to demonstrate:
HKSAR v Cheung Kie Chung [2025] 1 HKLRD 481, [2024] HKCA 1149.
1. Enter the full title of the law report, e.g., Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest, instead of HKLRD. You can check the full title using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
2. Click on "Online access" to locate the e-version of the law report.
3. You can then browse or search for the article in the selected database.
4. Click on the link of the citation to read the full text of the case.
Westlaw Asia offers access to official law reports, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports (HKCFAR), and Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest (HKLRD). To help you navigate case law on Westlaw Asia, check out this informative video tutorial (7:49).
Lexis+ Hong Kong provides access to law reports like Hong Kong Cases (HKC). You can use the quick search box on the homepage or explore the advanced search features to locate cases using party names, case citations, keywords, and more.
The Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII, pronounced "H K Lee") is developed and operated by the University of Hong Kong's Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Law. It offers free access to primary legal materials from Hong Kong.
To learn how to locate cases on HKLII, please refer to the release notes.
The Legal Reference System is a comprehensive platform created by the Judiciary for legal practitioners, researchers, and the public to access legal decisions in Hong Kong.
Basic Search Form (4:39):
Search by Neutral Citation Number (2:49):
Identify Law Report Titles from Citations
During your studies, you will often encounter cases presented in citation format. Below are some examples to help you identify law report titles from these citations and locate them using Find@HKUL.
Reported Cases in Hong Kong from 2018:
To find the law report below, please search for "Hong Kong Law Reports and Digest" in Find@HKUL, rather than using the abbreviation "HKLRD". You can check the full title using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Reported Cases in United Kingdom from 2001:
To find the law report below, please search for "Appeal Cases" in Find@HKUL, rather than using the abbreviation "AC". You can check the full title using the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.