LibGuides: International Law: Foreign Law

How do I find information on the laws and governments of other countries?

Foreign Law Guide This link opens in a new window
Accesssible in the Law Building Only.. Foreign Law Guide is a source for primary and secondary sources of foreign law from nearly 200 jurisdictions. It contains information from major nations to crown colonies, semi-independent states and supra-national regional organizations. Hundreds of URLs containing reprints or translations of legislation are cited. [Available for School of Law students, faculty, and staff IN THE LAW BUILDING ONLY.]

Multinational Sources Compared: A Subject and Jurisdiction Index
via HeinOnline. A finding aid to locate sources that compare multiple jurisdictions on focused legal subjects. Search by particular country and topic. Also in print, K85.W65 2021.

Websites

The following websites contain information on foreign legal systems as well as links to key legal materials. This includes cases, legislation, constitutions and other key legal materials. Most of these sites allow you to search countries alphabetically. These lists are quite comprehensive. You should have no problem finding research guides for most countries.

GlobaLex Foreign Law Research Guides by Country
Click on Foreign Law Research, then select the country you are researching. Contains a document describing the legal system in that country, with links to primary sources.
World Legal Information Institute
For each country links to legislation, courts and cases (some countries), topical resources.
Law Library of Congress Guide to Law Online: Nations
Contains a research guide for each country with links to legal documents, information on government structure and research links. 29 countries available, more being added.
JuriGlobe
Provides information about world legal systems, including classifications.
American Society of International Law: Electronic Resource Guide
Follow the prompts to sign up for a free account to access materials provided by ASIL.
Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Legal Research
Provides links to other sites with research guides for a particular country.
Government Gazettes Online
Foreign Law Web Archive
An archive of selected jurisdictions' legal materials, especially those that may be in danger of disappearing from the web.
Constitute
Full text of over 190 constitutions currently in force.
Guide to International Legal Research
Lexis

Foreign Law Web Archive

Foreign Law Web Archive
A collection of archived web foreign legal materials, including gazettes and judicial sites. By the Library of Congress.

Lexis and Westlaw

Lexis and Westlaw contain legal materials for selected countries. Also see:

Practical Law: Country Q & A Comparison Tool (Westlaw)

Databases

Israel Law Reports and Israel Law Review

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law This link opens in a new window
The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law is a comprehensive online resource containing analytical comparative articles offering a global overview of constitutional law. The articles available in the database address a focused range of topics that provide the best coverage of the essence, character, development, and history of constitutional law from a global perspective. It provides seamless navigation between encyclopedia articles, linking to commentaries and instruments from the Oxford Constitutions of the World and US Constitutional Law products. [UA users only.]

World Constitutions Illustrated
Includes the current constitution for every country in its original language format and an English translation, as well as substantial constitutional histories for countries such as Australia, Brazil, China, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and many more. It also includes constitutional periodicals, thousands classic books, other related works such as the World Fact Book, links to scholarly articles and online resources, and bibliographic references.
Multinationational Sources Compared - HeinOnline
A finding aid designed to direct researchers to sources that compare multiple jurisdictions on focused subjects.