LibGuides: Lawyer referral and legal self-help resources: Self-help resources

Cases and Laws - starting points

Legal Research Basics for Non-Lawyers
by University of Victoria Law Library Last Updated May 30, 2025 82 views this year

Courthouse Libraries BC
Open to the public for legal research, including online databases.
BC Laws
Current British Columbia laws and regulations, and related materials.
CanLII
Contains Canadian cases, statutes and regulations. CanLII is a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada whose goal it is to make Canadian law accessible for free on the internet.
Canadian federal laws and regulations
Dept. of Justice laws website. Current and historical federal laws and regulations back to 2001. Online version is considered official for legal purposes.
Supreme Court of Canada
Current and historical judgments of the court, and related materials.
V|lex Canada
Legislation, Case law, select books and journals.

Legal Resources - starting points

These links go to legal resources (also known as secondary sources) on a variety of legal topics. Secondary sources explain the area of law and point towards relevant cases and laws. Finding secondary sources is the first step of the legal research process.

Clicklaw
Offers legal information on a full range of topics, including: court procedures, debt, family law, housing & tenancy and pensions, benefits & welfare
Clicklaw - Wikibooks
Over 50 plain language legal publications on a wide variety of legal topics
Plain Language Legal Resources
A list of plain language legal resources by Courthouse Libraries BC on family law, wills and estates, consumer law, civil law, and residential tenancies.
CanLII Guide to British Columbia Civil Litigation
Has (1) Areas of Law Pathfinders, (2) The Guide to Civil Procedure at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and (3) Annotations of the BC Supreme Court Civil Rules and Court of Appeal Rules

Legal Research Guides

These guides give an overview of how to do legal research, including how to find cases and laws.

Canadian Legal Research and Writing Guide
An online guide outlining the steps of the legal research process and how to effectively find cases and laws.
CanLII Primer
A guide to searching cases and laws on CanLII

Courts: Online Help Guides

The online self help websites for the different levels of court in BC are created by the Justice Education Society. Each website has guides that walk through the process of representing yourself for that level of court.

Small Claims BC
Small Claims Court (the name of the Provincial Civil Court in BC) deals with civil court matters seeking claims between $5001 and $35000. This website walks you through the process of starting or replying to a Small Claims suit, the court procedures, and how to collect money awarded by the court or appeal a judgment. It has links to the Small Claims Court Forms, some of which can be filled out online through the Small Claims Filing Assistant.
Supreme Court BC
This website provides procedural help for people representing themselves in court in civil law, family law or criminal law.
Court of Appeal
If you are representing yourself in the Court of Appeal, the guidebooks and resources on this website can help you learn about the Court and its specific procedures for civil, family and criminal matters.
AdminLawBC
Resources for resolving disputes in BC administrative tribunals and agencies.