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26 TALL Newsl. 1 (2006-2007)

handle is hein.journals/tallquart26 and id is 1 raw text is: Hi TALL Newsletter TORNT SSoc 0 OF LA LIRAIE A New Supreme Court for the United Kingdom: A Primer for Law Librarians by Nancy McCormack Librarians often require familiarity with several jurisdictions in order to provide legal reference service, including some knowledge of the government and/or court system of a particular country, in addition to its constitution. A major aspect of the constitution of the United States, for example, is the strict separation of powers. We are able to refer to the writings of Charles de Montesquieu and John Locke, which were so instrumental in the thinking of the drafters of the U.S. Constitution, and to the final shape of that document itself. From there we can then explain the structure of the legislative, executive and judicial branches and the system of checks and balances designed to allocate power amongst those branches. When it comes to a discussion of legal matters in the United Kingdom, however, things are not so clear-cut. Not only is there no written constitution, there seems to be an absence of separation between the country's highest courts and its other branches of government. Librarians are often required to point out to patrons that there is not one Supreme Court but actually two courts at the highest level: 1) the House of Lords' Appellate Committee which deals with appeals from lower courts in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland' and 2) the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which, in addition to acting as the final court of appeal for certain independent Commonwealth countries, British territories and crown dependencies, and functioning as a court of appeal for certain ecclesiastical matters, also hears cases involving the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. (Continued on Page 5) Inside... Continuing Education 29 0 Editor's Notes 3 0 From the Literature 18 In the Loop 19 0 IRQs 24 0 James D. Lang Award Recipient Stan Orlov 20 Law in 60 Seconds: Damages 16 0 NE 2007 21 0 President's Message 3 Process of a Bill in Ontario 14 0 TALLAnnual General Meeting Pt. 1125 TALL Tour of the Archives of Ontario 12 Vol. 26, no. 1 Fall 2006