How to use BAILII for case law
BAILII is the largest free database of UK and Irish judgments. This guide explains how to search efficiently, what to do if a case is missing, and how to cite.
Overview
BAILII (the British and Irish Legal Information Institute) hosts judgments from UK and Irish courts going back decades. It is free, but its search interface is dated. This guide gets you to the case you need quickly.
Step-by-step
Search by neutral citation
If you know the citation (e.g. [2024] EWCA Civ 99), enter it into the search box. BAILII returns the case directly. Neutral citations are the most reliable way to find a specific judgment.
Browse by court when you don't know the citation
BAILII's court-by-court browser lets you scan recent decisions of a particular court. Useful for finding recent appellate decisions on a topic.
Use 'cite' link for citation
When you find a case, the 'cite' option gives you the standard citation. Use this โ not the URL or the case name alone โ when writing.
Cross-check with Find Case Law
The National Archives' Find Case Law service has the official judgments from 2003+ for senior courts and from 2023+ for many lower courts. It is more authoritative for recent cases. BAILII has broader historical coverage.
If a case is missing
Not every judgment is reported. If a case isn't on BAILII or Find Case Law, it may exist only as a transcript (orderable from the court). For Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases, this is rare; for lower courts it is common.