''The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia'' (commonly referred to as the ''Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia'') is an encyclopaedia of

law in Scotland Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical s ...

. It incorporates law derived from every

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

and, while concentrating on the specialities of Scots law, it also covers law common to the whole of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Each statement of law is supported by citation of authority, and there are references to sources of further information, both primary and secondary. The Encyclopaedia may be cited with approval before the courts. In 1981, three hundred years after

James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair (May 1619 – 29 November 1695), Scottish lawyer and statesman, and a key influence on the Scottish Enlightenment. He was a leading figure of Scottish law, “and also one of the greatest thinkers on la ...

's first publication of his original work, a new encyclopaedia of Scots law was commissioned.Law Society of Scotland Journal Online
/ref> The complete set consists of over 130 titles in 25 volumes and Reissue binders. It covers the whole spectrum of Scots law, from

Administrative Law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

, through

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

Obligations An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when ther ...

and

Property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

, to

Wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

and

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

. ''Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia'' is also available as a searchable electronic archive on a paid subscription basis.

References

Editions

*''The Laws of Scotland : Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia''. Edinburgh :

Butterworths LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer inform ...

, 1987-

External links

The Stair Society
Law books Scots law Encyclopedias of law Scottish encyclopedias British online encyclopedias {{Scotland-law-stub