How to memorise Authorities (sections, statutes and cases)

Mustapha Ibrahim
Jun 15, 2020
4 min read

Every law student's dream is to memorise authorities and never forget them, in this article, I will write a guide on how to do quite that.

The basics of every successful study is "Memory", the brain has a memory just as phones, computers and other devices alike. Learning is one thing, but having it ranging in your brain and can recall it anytime you want is quite another.

It will surely baffle you, to memorise whole lot sections and cases (statutory and judicial authorities), expecting to recall (remember) them in exam hall and finding yourself or ending up in the contrary (forgetfulness).

There were times when I was in college, that I will read TDB (till daybreak) and memorise many sections and cases due to the anticipation of what and which question may be asked.

As a law student, you must be familiar with problem questions and essays. A question may require a judicial or statutory authority, and some with long and unexplainable scenario.

You won't expect to answer a question that reads " Support your answer With a statutory authority if any...." With an answer like "The meaning of...."

But rather with an answer like:

"with the provision of....."

So if a question requires an authority you are expected to provide a citation of a case or a section of law, and Act or any enactment that supports your answer, because knowing you need to memorise legal authorities is one thing, the memorisation process is actually another.

Without further introduction, let's dive into the pool on

How to Memorise a case or any provision of law.

Sections of any law can be intertwining (completed), so it will be hard for a student to distinguish between them, let's take for example, section 257 of the penal code and Sec 317 of Criminal code can really be confusing with section 357 of the Criminal code.

Section 257 of PC is corresponding with section 357 of CC. But looking close to the above authorities, 7 the number 7 is a reputation (repeated), and it can lead to confuse one in an exam hall.

Same obstacle could be encountered when trying to memorise a Case (Judicial authority), cases can be as complicated as sections or even more, there maybe a similarity in name for example.

Abdul Vs Abdul 2015 and a difference in the year, example Abdul Vs Abdul 2016 here we have two different cases that looks similar, but they are entirely different, the fact in that of 2016 may be different from the fact in 2015, but if care is not taken, one will end up being visited by his Village people 😂😆

To Avoid This.

Memorise your Authorities three weeks before exam
Try not to confuse yourself by reading many sections a day, 5 sections everyday is okay.
In the night, 3-5am, the brain functions are at maximum, very sharp and best time to memorise a section is in the Midnight, 12-3, no doubt.
Always try to take a bath (a shower) before going to bed, warm water helps the brain to calm and rest.
Stay away from all distractions after memorizing a section (Take for example, an hour or two before engaging in any social activity).
Make a list (on a paper) of the sections or cases you memorised yesterday and repeat them 7-14 times before going to sleep.
Keep a distance between yourself and your mobile phone, the radiation of internet data connection or WiFi and mobile hotspot affects the brain ability to keep new data in a long-term memory.
Always sleep earpiece, research shows that listening to music and sleeping off on it keeps your brain busy, your body is resting while your brain busy working.

All above 8 procedures are normal and Natural, as a law student, you have no alternative but to start working on them, except otherwise of course, if you don't want to answer the questions correctly and it perfectly (Although, nobody is perfect).

But however, there are secondary procedures, and currently, there are two!

Spaced Memorisation

Up till date, I will never forget the memorisation we did back in JSS2 on "Physical fitness", if you ask me to define it, I will do that with pleasure because my brain will never fail to recall the definition that

" Physical fitness is the ability of an individual to perform his daily work well, without feeling too tired and still have reserved energy"

If you ask me, most of us (if not all) can still count the multiplication table or the "State and capital, Abia-Umahia, Adamawa-Yola, Akwa ibom- Uyo" laughing?..... Hahaha it made u recall.

That is why spaced memorisation is the best of all, why because during those days, the memorisation if the State and Capitals of Nigerian cities were not done in a single day or a single night, no! Never, it was done in couple of Months!

The memorisation was done with "Reputation", we repeated those state and capitals countless number of times, and so in worse scenarios and hard situations, our brains still remember them, we can still recall the multiplication table, and we can still write down the First definition of " Noun"!!

It is no magic, if you did it then, you can also do it now.

Likewise when trying to memorise sections and cases (Legal authorities), you need to adopt the similar procedure, take your time and make sure that section is repeated simultaneously, many times, countless number of times, and your brain will never forget what you taught it.!

Alternative for memorising cases (judicial authorities)

Apart from the natural procedure, there is an alternative way to memorise cases (at best).

With the help of an android Application called "Ankidroid" you can typically memorise anything you want.

What is AnkiDroid?

Is an android application that helps with memorisation, it presents the written information you saved and present it to you as Flashcards, so your brain will easily remember them in the future, for example if you want to memorise the case of Dunlop Vs Selfridge, you save the name if the case in the first card, and facts of the case in the following flashcards.

How use AnkiDroid

First, you need to download the Application in play store by searching the name of the Application with the keyword "AnkiDroid" and it will appear on your screen like this:

After downloading the Application, you then click on the folder sign at the down left corner and add the front card, and at the slot under it (the text area) you write the fact of the case.