Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Year Books

Books of legal cases, or reporters, published annually in England from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century.

The development of English COMMON LAW was based on the law of the case. Lawyers and courts relied on previous court decisions that involved similar issues of law and fact. The law of the case could not take hold, however, until cases were recorded, reported, and eventually published. The English Year Books, which were created in about 1290, are the first example of a reporting system. Though they were informal and often contained running commentary about the judges' personalities and the lawyers' quips, the Year Books were referred to increasingly by judges and lawyers.

During the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307) legal materials began to be collected into separate books for each year. During this early period the Year Books were extremely...