Moys cataloging system

Moys is a cataloging system designed specifically for printed legal materials. The following is an overview of how this system applies to common and civil law.

Finding legal sources in the Law Library

Common Law

For common law jurisdictions, Moys first separates primary and secondary sources into two sequences. Primary materials include legislation, law reports and judgments and secondary materials are those that assist us to understand the primary legal sources.

Primary Legal Resources

Primary legal resources from the common law jurisdictions Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand and are shelved on the third floor bookroom of the Law Library. Parliamentary materials such as official gazettes and various parliamentary publications are not classified as primary legal resources, but are important in their creation. They are shelved next to the legislation and legal case reports at Level three.

Secondary Legal Resources

For common law jurisdictions the secondary legal sources are grouped by subject first and then jurisdiction. This means that those on the same topic from across the common law jurisdictions are located together. This minimises time spent browsing and retrieving from many different locations throughout the Law Library. You will find these resources located in the bookroom on Level one .

Non-common law

The non-common law jurisdictions, based on civil law systems are organised differently, by jurisdiction before subject. The result is that the primary and secondary resources of a non-common law jurisdiction are shelved together, and then ordered by subject. You will find these resources in the Level two bookroom.

Where are international law materials located?

International law resources include yearbooks, treaties, case law, and texts and are shelved on Level two.

Journals

The print journals from all areas and jurisdictions of law are held together on Level three.

Finding Tools

Posters identifying the content held within the bookrooms are situated at the entrance of each and they are useful guides when browsing. Use Te Waharoa to identify the call number (the shelf number) to locate your required resource.