14 Using Case Citators

The main role of a case citator is to provide extra information about cases. In Australian legal databases, any judgment of a superior court will have a citator record that includes information about the:

• status of the case
• publication and citation details
• litigation history — whether the case has gone on appeal and been subsequently affirmed or reversed
• subsequent judicial treatment — how later judges have treated the decision
• consideration of earlier cases
• secondary sources that cite the case
• legislation considered by the case.

Always check case citators to understand the case.