<P> In England and Wales, beginning with the reports of cases contained in the Year Books (Edward II to Henry VIII) there are various sets of reports of cases decided in the higher English courts down to the present time . Until the nineteenth century, both the quality of early reports, and the extent to which the judge explained the facts of the case and his judgment, are highly variable, and the weight of the precedent may depend on the reputations of both the judge and the reporter . Such reports are now largely of academic interest, having been overtaken by statutes and later developments, but binding precedents can still be found, often most cogently expressed . </P> <P> In 1865, the nonprofit Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) for England and Wales was founded, and it has gradually become the dominant publisher of reports in the UK . It has compiled most of the best available copies of pre-1866 cases into the English Reports . Post-1865 cases are contained in the ICLR's own Law Reports . Even today, the UK government does not publish an official report, but its courts have promulgated rules stating that the ICLR reports must be cited when available . Historical practice, which may still apply where no other report is available, permitted parties to rely on any report' with the name of a barrister annexed to it .' </P> <P> While maritime cases often have a contract or tort element and are reported in the standard volumes, the standard source for maritime cases is the Lloyd's Law Reports, which covers matters including maritime matters such as carriage of goods by sea, international trade law, and admiralty law . </P> <P> The Session Cases report cases heard in the Court of Session and Scottish cases heard on appeal in the House of Lords . The Justiciary Cases report from the High Court of Justiciary . Those two series are the most authoritative and are cited in court in preference to other report series, such as the Scots Law Times, which reports sheriff court and lands tribunal cases in addition to the higher courts . The law reports service of Scotland is supplemented by other reports such as the Scottish Civil Case Reports and Green's Weekly Digest . </P>

When were the first books of legal decisions published