Changes to content

The recent change of monarch will be reflected in the titles of some courts and cases published in The Law Reports and other content by ICLR.

• The Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) of the High Court will now be known as the King’s Bench Division (KBD).
• Cases brought in the name of the Crown will use the word “King” instead of “Queen”, and the abbreviation “R” adopted according to ICLR house style will now represent “Rex” rather than “Regina”.
• Queen’s Counsel (QC) currently in practice will henceforth be styled King’s Counsel (KC).

These changes will be applied in relation to any case decided on or after 9 September 2022.

The Law Reports

For the printed edition of The Law Reports, there will be a final QB volume containing reports of judgments given up to and including 8 September 2022; and a separate KB volume containing reports of judgments given thereafter.

This follows the practice previously adopted by ICLR in 1952 upon the death of King George VI and the accession of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Finding cases online

When searching or browsing by court for cases on ICLR.4, it is possible to select from the list a combined option for “High Court: Queen’s/King’s Bench Division”.

When browsing by series and volume, the following separate options are available:

King’s Bench Division (The Law Reports: 1901 – 1952)

Queen’s Bench Cases (The Law Reports: 1865 – 1875)

Queen’s Bench Division (The Law Reports: 1875 – 1890)

Queen’s Bench Division (The Law Reports: 1891 – 1901, 1952 – present)

These options will be updated once the new print edition volumes have been published.

For more information on the different series of The Law Reports, and how to cite them, see Guide to ICLR law reports and their citations

Featured image: Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London. Photo via Shutterstock.