''Halsbury's Laws of England'' is a uniquely comprehensive encyclopaedia of law, and provides the only complete narrative statement of law in England and Wales. It has an alphabetised title scheme covering all areas of law, drawing on authorities including Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measures of the Welsh Assembly, UK case law and

European law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

. It is written by or in consultation with experts in the relevant field. ''Halsbury's Laws'' has an annual and monthly updating service. The encyclopaedia and updates are available in both hard copy and online, with some content available for free online.

History

In 1907 Stanley Shaw Bond, editor at Butterworths, began a project to produce a complete statement of the law of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

that was authoritative, comprehensive and up-to-date. Bond tracked down the former

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

, The Earl of Halsbury, on holiday in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

to invite him to be the editor-in-chief of ''The Laws of England''. Traditionally, the role of editor-in-chief of ''Halsbury's Laws'' is held by a former Lord Chancellor, and the current incumbent is

Lord Mackay of Clashfern James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, (born 2 July 1927) is a British advocate. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is a former active member of the House of Lo ...

. In 2007, ''Halsbury's Laws'' celebrated its centenary with an evening of seminars led by Lord Mackay of Clashfern and professor Richard Susskind, and the publication of a collection of centenary essays.

First edition

The first edition was published in 31 volumes from 1907 to 1917.John S James and Leslie F Maxwell. ''

A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations ''A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations'', formerly ''Sweet & Maxwell's Legal Bibliography'', is a bibliography of law published in London by Sweet & Maxwell. First Edition The First Edition is called ''Sweet and Maxwell' ...

''. Second Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1957. Volume 2. Page 152. Since then, new editions have been launched at intervals of about 20 to 30 years. Volume 1 was published in 1907. Its articles run from

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

to bankers and banking. The volume deals with action,

admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, agency,

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

s, allotments,

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

, arbitration,

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

bailment Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...

and bankers and banking. Volume 2 was published in 1908. Its articles run from bankruptcy to

bills of exchange A negotiable instrument is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money, either on demand, or at a set time, whose payer is usually named on the document. More specifically, it is a document contemplated by or consisting of a ...

. It contains but four treatises, upon bankruptcy and

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet ...

(335 pages), barristers (67 pages),

bastardy Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

(28 pages) and bills of exchange,

promissory notes A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...

and negotiable instruments (124 pages). Volume 5 (companies) is devoted entirely to company law, and forms a treatise of 768 pages on that subject. After a general consideration of the nature and domicile of companies, the work considers briefly the history of company legislation. Then follows an elaborate treatise on the

Companies Act 1908 A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

. Special companies, like banking, insurance and public service companies, are considered; as well as chartered companies, the livery companies of the City of London, quasi-corporations, and illegal companies; and a few pages are devoted to foreign companies. The reviewer in the ''Harvard Law Review'' thought the table of cases cited must contain at least five thousand cases. He said the importance of this treatise was at once apparent; and that to the commercial lawyer in the Eastern cities of the United States it would be exceedingly useful. The articles in volume 11 run from descent to ecclesiastical law. It contains a short article on descent and distribution; a discussion of discovery, inspection and interrogatories, under the English practice; an elaborate article on distress; an article on easements and profits, which the ''Harvard Law Review'' said was the most interesting article in the volume to an American lawyer; and an elaborate disquisition on ecclesiastical law. The articles in volume 12 run from education to electric lighting and power. The ''Harvard Law Review'' said that the articles on education and elections had comparatively little value to the American bar, but the hundred pages devoted to electric lighting and power were useful. Volume 20 was published in 1911. Its articles run from markets to misrepresentation. It contains articles on markets and fairs (59 pages), master and servant (221 pages), medicine and pharmacy (82 pages), the Metropolis (106 pages), mines, minerals and quarries (156 pages) and misrepresentation and fraud (110 pages). According to the '' Harvard Law Review'', the article on master and servant was of constant interest to an American lawyer; and that on misrepresentation and fraud, from the master hand of G. Spencer Bower, was a valuable treatise in itself. Volume 21 was published in 1912. Its articles run from mistake to partition. It contains articles on mistake (34 pages), money and money lending (29 pages), mortgage (283 pages), negligence (134 pages), notaries (9 pages), nuisance (72 pages), Parliament (197 pages) and partition (59 pages). The ''Harvard Law Review'' said that the standard set by the preceding volumes appeared to be maintained and that the series, up to this volume, was a collection of very admirable treatises on English law.

Second, third and fourth editions

The second edition was published in 37 volumes from 1932 to 1941. The editor-in-chief was

Viscount Hailsham Viscount Hailsham, of Hailsham in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the lawyer and Conservative politician Douglas Hogg, 1st Baron Hailsham, who twice served as Lord High Chancello ...

. The managing editor was Sir

Roland Burrows Sir Roland Burrows (12 February 1882 – 13 June 1952) was a British judge and legal writer. Burrows was born in Maidstone, Kent, and educated at St John's College, Southend; the University of London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was called ...

. The second edition of volume 5 was published in 1949. The second and subsequent editions of the encyclopaedia took the name of the said Earl of Halsbury. The third edition was published in 43 volumes from 1952 to 1964. The general editor was

Lord Simonds Gavin Turnbull Simonds, 1st Viscount Simonds, (28 November 1881 – 28 June 1971) was a British judge, politician and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Background and education Simonds was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Louis DeLuz ...

. The fourth edition was published in 56 volumes from 1973 to 1987. The editor-in-chief was Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone. The editor-in-chief of volumes reissued from August 1998 onwards was

Fifth edition

Publication of the fifth edition began in 2008 and is being published in 103 volumes. It will have a new title scheme, a new updating service, and improved integration of European law. New titles for the fifth edition include, ''Sports Law'', ''Information Technology Law'', ''Financial Services and Institutions'', ''Judicial Review'' and ''Environmental Quality and Public Health''.

Halsbury Legal Awards

The Halsbury Legal Awards debuted in 2013. They celebrate the value that people in law bring to society. The theme of the awards is: "The Whole of the law. Connected". The awards recognise the achievements and talents of individuals and teams across the entire legal sector. The Bar, legal practice, in-house counsel, academia and legal journalism are all recognised, as are contribution to the promotion, growth and value of the sector.

Halsbury Awards

The Halsbury Awards, in association with the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians, were sponsored by Halsbury's Laws from 2007 to 2012. They recognise outstanding performance given by legal information services, law libraries and teams managing legal collections and resources.

Related publications

*''

Halsbury's Laws of Australia ''Halsbury's Laws of Australia'' is similar to '' Halsbury's Laws of England'', but is written for Australia. It is an encyclopaedia of the laws of Australia. Published by LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells ...

'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of Canada'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of Singapore'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of Malaysia'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of Hong Kong'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of India'' *'' Halsbury's Laws of New Zealand'' *'' The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia''

Bibliography

*Marke, J J. ''A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University''. New York University. 1953.

External links

Volume I - 1907 - Action to Bankers and Banking

Volume II - 1908 - Bankruptcy and Insolvency to Bills of Exchange

Volume III - 1908 - Bills of Sale to Burial and Cremation

Volume IV - 1908 - Carriers to Commons and Rights of Common

Volume V - 1910 - Companies

Volume VI - 1909 - Compulsory Purchase of Land and Compensation to Constitutional Law (Parts I - V)

Volume VII - 1909 - Constitutional Law (Part VI to End) to Contract

Volume VIII - 1909 - Copyholds to County Court

Volume IX - 1909 - Courts to Criminal Law and Procedure

Volume X - 1909 - Crown Practice to Dependencies and Colonies

Volume XI - 1910 - Descent and Distribution to Ecclesiastical Law

Volume XII - 1910 - Education to Electric Lighting and Power

Volume XIII - 1910 - Equity to Evidence

Volume XIV - 1910 - Execution to Fisheries

Volume XV - 1911 - Food and Drugs to Guarantee

Volume XVI - 1911 - Highways, Streets, and Bridges to Income Tax

Volume XVII - 1911 - Industrial, Provident and Similar Societies to Interpleader

Volume XVIII - 1911 - Intoxicating Liquors to Libel and Slander

Volume XIX - 1911 - Lien to Malicious Prosecution and Procedure

Volume XX - 1911 - Markets and Fairs to Misrepresentation and Fraud

Volume XXI - 1912 - Mistake to Partition

Volume XXII - 1912 - Partnership to Post Office

Volume XXIII - 1912 - Powers to Railways and Canals

Volume XXIV - 1912 - Rates and Rating to Revenue

Volume XXV - 1913 - Royal Forces to Sheriffs and Bailiffs

Volume XXVI - 1914 - Shipping and Navigation to Solicitors

Volume XXVII - 1913 - Specific Performance to Trover and Detinue

Volume XXVIII - 1914 - Trusts and Trustees to Work and Labour

Volume XXIX - 1915 - Consolidated Table of Cases

Volume XXX - 1917 - General Index - A-L

Volume XXXI - 1917 - General Index - M-Z

Supplement No. 21 - 1931 - Bringing the Work up to 1931

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halsbury's Laws of England * English law Encyclopedias of law British encyclopedias 1907 non-fiction books 1932 non-fiction books 1952 non-fiction books 1973 non-fiction books 2008 non-fiction books 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias