JustCite FAQs – Case numbering

Q – How are cases numbered when they involve the same parties but different points of law?

A – Cases are numbered and named by the publishers of case reports.

There is no widespread co-ordination between publishers on the numbering of cases. Some publishers may publish reports of all of the cases, so the numbers are sequential. Other publishers may not report all of the cases, and number only the ones for which they publish reports, so the numbers are sequential, but different from those of the first publisher. Still other publishers may number all of the cases, but not publish reports of all of them, so that there are gaps in the numbers. Courts do not assign numbers to cases.

For example, in one long-running case arising from the collapse of B.C.C.I., the following case reports can be found in The Weekly Law Reports:

• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England ([1995] 3 WLR 650)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No. 3) ([2000] 2 WLR 15)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No. 3) ([2000] 2 WLR 1220)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 4) ([2003] 1 WLR 210, [2002] EWCA Civ 1182)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 5) ([2003] 3 WLR 667, [2003] EWCA Civ 474)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) ([2004] 2 WLR 1065, [2004] EWCA Civ 218)
• Three Rivers District Council and others v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) ([2004] 3 WLR 1274, [2004] UKHL 48)

All of the above cases involve the same parties. Cases with different numbers involve different points of law. Cases with the same number involve the same points of law but were heard in different courts. The same cases published in the All England Law Reports may well have been assigned different numbers.

The first case in a series will often not have a number, because at that time it was not known that there was going to be a series of cases and reports.

For recent cases, you can use the neutral citation to check whether reports in series from different publishers relate to the same case or not.

For older cases, prior to the introduction of neutral citations, you can use the date, the court and the names of the judges.

Top

3rd July 2007