International & Foreign Legal Research
Researching Foreign Law

Spring 2007

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Where to Start
Locating Primary Law

Introduction

What is foreign law? It is the national (also referred to as domestic or internal) law of any country other than the United States. Comparative law is "the study of the similarities and differences between the laws of two or more countries, or between two more more legal systems. Comparative law is not itself a system of law or a body of rules, but rather a method or approach to legal inquiry." (Berring, How to Find the Law, 9th ed., p 565). 

Research methods will vary depending on the country you are researching.  When beginning to research a legal system, you will need to do the following: 

Where to Start  

When researching the law of another country, it is important to start with a relevant research guide, bibliography, or some other tool for determining the structure of the legal system and the sources of law that are available. 

To locate relevant guides, search LawCat using subject searches: legal research--[country]; law--[country]--bibliography; or law--[country]. Research guides and bibliographies may be contained in journal articles or in a chapter of a more general book. 

Relevant Research Guides and Introductory Works

Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: an Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1998). 

T. Reynolds & A. Flores, Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1989-). See also the electronic version, Foreign Law Guide (UCB only).

J. Roberts, A Guide to Official Gazettes and Their Contents (rev. ed., Washington, D.C.: Law Library, Library of Congress, 1985). 

Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems (R.A. Danner and M.H. Bernal, eds., New York: Oceana, 1994).   

C. Germain, Germain 's Transnational Law Research (Ardsely-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Transnational Juris Publications, 1991-). Selected topics and some European countries. The chapter on French law is available on the web.

Guide to International Legal Research (Salem, NH: Butterworths, 2002-).  A good place to start research for both international legal topics and foreign legal jurisdictions. Annual editions.

International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (New York: Oceana). Some volumes are a bit dated, but it is a very useful set. Information on foreign legal systems as well as selected topics.

Information Sources in Law (Winterton and Moys eds., 2nd ed., London; New Providence, N.J.: Bowker-Saur, 1997).  Coverage of European countries.

Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia (K. Redden ed., Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein, 1984-). Information on foreign legal jurisdictions. Quality of chapters varies.

Szladits' Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1995-). An excellent source for locating English-language articles and books.

Consult web guides, such as: 

General Works on Specific Countries

The researcher is well advised to look for a general work on the country in question. There are many print sources that provide excellent information on the legal system, the structure of legal materials, and information and tips on subject areas. Some of these sources are listed below.

To locate these materials, search LawCat using the subject headings: law-- [name of country]. See also the introductions for each country in the Foreign Law Guide (UCB only).

John Bell et al., Principles of French Law (Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1998).

William E. Butler, Russian Law (2nd ed., Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2003).

Wan Arfah Hamzah, An Introduction to the Malaysian Legal System (Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan: Fajar Bakti, 2003).

Nigel Foster, German Legal System & Laws (3rd ed., Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).

Introduction to Dutch Law (J.M.J. Chorus et al, eds., 3rd rev. ed., The Hague; Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1999).

Introduction to Greek Law (Konstantinos D. Kerameus, Phaedon J. Kozyris eds., 2nd rev. ed., Deventer, Netherlands; Boston: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers; Athens: Sakkoulas, 1993).

Introduction to the Law of Israel (Amos Shapira and Keren C. DeWitt-Arar eds., The Hague; Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1995).

Introduction to Turkish Law (Tugrul Ansay and Don Wallace, Jr. eds., 5th ed., The Hague; Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1996).

Wei Luo, Chinese Law and Legal Research (Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein, 2005).

Martin Partington, Introduction to the English Legal System (2nd ed., Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

Edilenice Passos, Doing Legal Research in Brazil (Den Bosch, The Netherlands : Book World Publications, 2001). A version of this is available on GlobaLex.

Charlotte Villiers, The Spanish Legal Tradition: An Introduction to the Spanish law and Legal System (Aldershot; Brookfield, USA: Ashgate/Dartmouth, 1999).

Ian Ward, A Critical Introduction to European Law (2nd ed., London: LexisNexis UK, 2003).

Doing Business In... volumes are very useful places to start. See Doing Business in Mexico, Doing Business in Argentina, or Doing Business in Asia, etc.

Consider sources on the region when looking for laws or information on a specific legal system. Sources on the region may contain sections or chapters on the country in question. See BNA's Eastern Europe Reporter, Taxation in Latin America, or International Commercial Arbitration in Asia.

Locating Primary Law

The sources of law can vary from country to country. In civil law systems, statutes and codes are primary law and court decisions are secondary. Consult the Sources of Law outline for a refresher on primary and secondary sources of law. Keep these concepts in mind when doing foreign law research. 

Be sure to consult the research guides and introductory works mentioned above.

Constitutions

One of the most important texts to locate when doing foreign and comparative research is a country’s constitution. Luckily, this is one of the easier laws to locate in both the vernacular as well as in English.

Relevant subject headings:

Constitutions
Constitutions – [country]
Constitutional history – [country]
Constitutional law – [country]
Constitutional courts – [country]

Related subject headings:

Judicial Review
Judicial Power

Selected Collections of Constitutions

These are some of the collections of constitutions available in print. Other constitutions are available in print for specific countries or regions.

Constitutions of the Countries of the World (Blaustein, Albert P. and Gilbert H. Flanz, eds., Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1971-). Each chapter provides some historical information, and the older versions help the research track changes to the language. Also available on the web (UCB only).

Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1998-).

Constitutions of the World, 1850 to the Present [microform] = Verfassungen der Welt, 1850 bis zur Gegenwart (Munich: K.G. Saur Verlag, 2003-). This microfiche set contains past versions of constitutions at the state and federal level, in both the vernacular and English, where possible. It is quite useful for historical research. Only part 1 of Europe has been completed, Albania - Switzerland.

Central & East European Legal Materials (Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Juris Publications, 1990-). Contains the constitutions and related laws for Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia.

Global Constitutional Law Collection (Boxtel, Neth.: Global Law Association & Wolf Legal Publishers, 1996). Contents: v. 1. Europe: A-Est.; v. 2. Europe: Finland-Liechtenstein; v. 3. Europe: Lithuania-Romania; v. 4. Europe: Russian Federation-Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Electronic Collections

Legislation, Statutes and Codes

There are generally two approaches for looking for foreign law -- by subject or by jurisdiction . If you are looking for a specific piece of legislation, the tools mentioned above are very useful. Foreign Law Guide is particularly useful since it contains a listing of laws arranged by subject for each country.  Country research guides may not provide guidance for all specific laws, but will provide information on compilations of laws or specific codes. Be sure to look for subject compilations, for example, laws on investment would be in a set called Investment Laws of the World. As mentioned above, also consider sources from the region where the country is located.

T. Reynolds & A. Flores, Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1989-). See also the electronic version, Foreign Law Guide (UCB only)..

C. Germain, Germain 's Transnational Law Research (Ardsely-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Transnational Juris Publications, 1991-).   Selected topics and some European countries. The chapter on French law is available on the web. See section 3.01 for lists of subject compilations or the sections on particular topics. 

Szladits' Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1995-).  An earlier edition is also available under the title A Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English which covers 1790-1983.

Smith, "Foreign Law in Translation" (Chapter 14) in Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems (Danner and Bernal, eds., New York: Oceana, 1994). Lists many compilations of foreign laws in translation. 

The International Lawyer's Deskbook (2nd ed., L. Law et al. eds, Washington, DC: Section of International Law and Practice, ABA, 2003). Good information on selected topics.

Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: an Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1998).  Chapter 4 on foreign law is particularly helpful. 

Martindale Hubbell International Law Digest (New Providence, NJ: Martindale-Hubbell,1993-). Also available on LexisNexis (INTLAW library; INTDIG file).  Covers 80 countries and provides short summaries of laws by topic.

International Encyclopaedia of Laws (Deventer; Boston: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers). Do a LawCat search to identify and locate the individual volumes. Arranged by topic (civil procedure, contracts, environmental law, family and succession, social security, etc.), it covers many jurisdictions.

Look for subject compilations, digests, periodicals, such as Tax laws of the World, Commercial Laws of the World, Digest of Commercial Laws of the World, Commercial Laws of Europe, Central and East European Legal Materials. Foreign Law Guide (and its print equivalent Foreign Law: Current Sources) has an excellent listing of subject compilations under the section called "materials indexed". You can locate periodicals by doing a subject search law -- [country] -- periodicals. 

Databases

There are many databases available for locating primary law, including fee-bases services (LexisNexis, Westlaw, and others), as well as freely available resources. Some of these valuable sources are listed below.

LexisNexis and Westlaw 

While these databases provide exhaustive coverage of American law, they do not provide comprehensive coverage of other jurisdictions. Some of the files coverage statutory law, some cover case law, some provide only access to news sources. Be sure to check the scope of coverage for any file on these databases.

  • LexisNexis is a good source for the laws of many different countries. Primary law materials are available for the countries listed below. Extent of coverage varies from country to country.  To access these files, select Legal > Legal (excluding U.S.).

Argentina (Spanish), Australia, Brunei (cases only), Canada, China, England and Wales, EU, France (mostly in French), Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India (cases only), Ireland (cases only), Italy (in Italian), Malaysia, Mexico (in Spanish), New Zealand (cases only), Northern Ireland (cases only), Russia, Scotland, Singapore (cases only), South Africa and UK.

  • Westlaw is building its coverage of foreign law. Westlaw also contain news and business information. From the Database Directory, select "International /Worldwide Materials" and then the desired region or "Databases Listed Alphabetically by Country or Region."

    Australia, Hong Kong, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands (insurance statutes and regulations only), Canada, EU, Hong Kong, Mexico (in Spanish and English), Russia, UK.

Other Databases

There are many databases available on the web for accessing foreign law, both in English and in the vernacular. Listed below are the databases that the Law Library subscribes to, but there are many others that we do not have access to or ones that are freely available. If you have trouble accessing any of these databases, try selecting them from the Databases page on the Library's web site.

  • China Laws for Foreign Business (UCB only)
    This database is the electronic equivalent of the print set of the same name. It contains relevant commentary, case law, legislation and other source materials. Includes business regulations, taxation and customs information, local business regulations for Special Economic Zones, Open Cities, provinces, and other locations. Text is available in English and Chinese. After you have accessed the database, select the "International Business" tab.
  • ChinaLawInfo (UCB only)
    Access to English language translations of laws, regulations, and cases from the People's Republic of China. Other legal news and information from China is available. The site is also available in Chinese.
  • Constitutions of the Countries of the World (UCB only)
    Contains the full text of constitutions from over 190 countries, including English translations and introductory and comparative notes that review recent amendments and provide historical and political information. This database is the electronic version of the print source Constitutions of the Countries of the World.
  • Foreign Law Guide (UCB only)
    The primary source for information on the sources of law for many foreign jurisdictions. It provides the researcher with relevant information on sources of foreign law, including complete bibliographic citations to legislation, the existence of English translations whenever possible, and selected references to secondary sources in English.
  • GLIN – Global Legal Information Network (UCB only)
    GLIN is a database of laws, regulations, and other complementary legal sources from various countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. The basic elements of this database are: (1) full texts of the documents in the official language of the country of origin; (2) summaries or abstracts in English; and (3) thesauri in English and in as many official languages as are represented in the database. The summaries or abstracts are sometimes linked to the corresponding full text documents.  See me for the login id and password.
  • InterAm Database (UCB only)
    Provides legal information pertaining to trade, investment, and related issues throughout the Americas. Includes primary sources (statutes, regulations, technical standards, official gazettes, constitutions, case law and treaties) and some secondary sources (commentaries, law review articles and analysis). English language translations are available for selected Mexican laws and regulations. Electronic version of the Inter-American Trade Report is also available.
  • Juris (UCB only)
    Juris Rechtsinformationen is the official database of Germany. The database provides access to laws, commentaries, cases, journal articles, and more. Researchers can search or browse. To access the database, click on the "start" button. Note that the database is only available in German.
  • KluwerArbitration.com (UCB only)
    KluwerArbitration is a fully searchable database covering the topic of international commercial arbitration. It includes: conventions, national legislation and case law, model laws rules of international and regional institutions, commentary, and information on bilateral investment treaties. The researcher can search or browse the database. Most information is full-text, but in some cases summaries or citations are only available. After you have accessed the database, select the "International Business" tab.
  • LLMC Digital (UCB only)
    LLMC - Digital provides full-text access to a vast collection of law and law-related literature courtesy of the Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC), a non-profit library cooperative that has filmed more than 7,500 titles and over 90,000 volumes during its past 27 years of operation. The first group of titles mounted on the LLMC - Digital web site are U.S. Federal documents; however, it is anticipated that constitutional, legal, and law-related materials from Commonwealth and Civil Law countries will begin to appear 2004. The collection includes statutes, treatises, case law, administrative decisions, and reports of government agencies, boards and departments and its current emphasis is mainly on historical documents (1790 - 2000).
  • QuickLaw is a Canadian online service also offering coverage of British, European and Commonwealth law.  This database is free to law students (select "Academic Accounts"). 
  • RIA Worldwide Tax Law (Tax and Commercial Laws of the World) (UCB only)
    RIA Worldwide Tax Law provides English translations of tax and commercial laws from jurisdictions around the world. This collection is the electronic version of the sets called Tax Laws of the World and Commercial Laws of the World . The database covers the following topics: income and corporate tax law; VAT; corporation law; trust law; commercial codes; environmental law; money laundering and other regulations affecting financial transactions; labor law; and bankruptcy.
  • vLex (UCB only)
    vLex is a database of the law of Spain, including European Union law. It contains legislation, official journals, codes, cases, books and journals. Researchers can browse the navigation pages in a variety of languages (English or French, for example), but the content is in Spanish. To access the database, click on "Entrar al Servicio."

Selected Topical Web Sites

In addition to the databases mentioned above, see the following sites for access to foreign law on the web. Note the breadth of subjects covered. Notice that some of the sources below are provided by IGOs, such as FAO, WIPO, ILO, etc. IGOs can be a good source for translated laws and information.  See also Foreign Law: Subject Law Collections on the Web for other subject oriented web sites.

To locate more foreign laws on the web, see the guides mentioned above and Foreign and International Law Resources: An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World (Harvard Law Library). See also the WorldLII directory by country or region. Some countries do provide selected laws in English, see these same web sites for access to these sources as well.

English Language Sources

When using translations, keep in mind that they must be used with caution. Usually, they are not authoritative, they may not be up-to-date, and the quality of the translation varies (see 1 Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World 13-19). For a refresher on these issues, see English Language Sources.

There are many English language compilations, especially in the areas of taxation, trade commercial and business law. Other areas of law may not have readily available English language translations. Another thing to consider is the date of the translation. Be sure to read the translated version carefully because some compilations may contain only an abstract of the law or an explanation and not the full text of the law. 

Looseleaf services (sources that are frequently updated) and journals can be a fruitful source for English translations. Foreign Law Guide (and its print equivalent Foreign Law: Current Sources) has a listing of subject compilations under the section called "materials indexed". A nice list of foreign law in English (for a variety of topics) is Sources of International and Foreign Law in English. Note that the call numbers do not apply in our library and this is by no means a complete list of sources.  You can locate relevant periodicals by doing a subject search law -- [country] -- periodicals. 

Listed below is a sampling of the many English-language sources available. Many of these sources are looseleafs and are updated on a regular basis.

By Topic

To locate the many English-language multi-jurisdictional sources, search Multinational Collections Database. "The Multinational Collections Database lists items which reprint the laws and regulations of international jurisdictions on a particular legal topic, comparative in nature. The purpose of the database is to provide additional identifying information about titles, beyond that which is provided in the Library's Online catalog."

Butterworths International Insolvency Laws (London: Butterworths, 1994).

Central & Eastern European Legal Materials (Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Juris Publications 1990-). 

Commercial Laws of the World (Ormond Beach, Fla.: Published for members of the Foreign Tax Law Association, 1976-).

Comparative Environmental Law and Regulation (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1997-). 

The Global Encyclopaedia of Data Protection Regulation (The Hague Boston Kluwer Law International, 1999-). 

International Encyclopaedia of Laws (topics vary: civil procedure, contracts, corporations, family law, insurance, etc.). Do a title search for the encyclopedia to identify and locate the individual volumes. 

Tax Laws of the World (Ormond Beach, Fla.: Foreign Tax Law Publishers,1964-) [BSR, various call numbers, search LawCat by country]. 

Telecommunications Laws in Europe (5th ed., London: Butterworths, 2005).

Transnational Contracts (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1997-).

World Arbitration Reporter (Stoneham, MA : Butterworth Legal Publishers, 1986-). 

World Patent Law and Practice (New York: M. Bender, 1974-). 

By Country or Region

There are some collections of national laws, by country or region, that contain English language translations. Some individual codes and laws are also available in translation.

Central & Eastern European Legal Materials (Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Juris Publications 1990-). 

China Laws for Foreign Business ([North Ryde, N.S.W.]: CCH Australia Ltd., 1985-).

EHS Law Bulletin ([Japan] (Tokyo : Eibun-Horei-Sha).

The German Penal Code: as amended as of December 19, 2001 (Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein, 2002).

Hungarian Rules of Law in Force (Budapest: O"tlet: UNIO, 1990-).

The Italian Civil Code and Complementary Legislation (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana, 1991-).

Russia and the Republics: Legal Materials (Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Juris Publications; U.K.: Graham & Trotman; The Netherlands; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992-).

Case Law

Where to Start

A good place to find out if the country of interest produces compilations of court decisions is through the sources mentioned above. Keep in mind that in many countries, court decisions are not considered primary law and there may not be any official publication of decisions. Also, in some countries, only the country's highest court will issue its decisions.  Periodicals and journals may be the best source for decisions. 

Relevant LawCat subject headings: international law--cases; law reports, digests, etc.--[country]; and [topic]--[country]--cases. 

Check the sections on "Court Reports" in T. Reynolds & A. Flores, Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1989-). This section will tell you whether the country issues official reports or if you must look in other sources, such as periodicals.  In many countries, legal periodicals act as unofficial sources for court decisions. 

LexisNexis contains summaries or the full-text of some case law from Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and a few others. See the Country and Region (excluding US) section on the LexisNexis web site. 

Westlaw also contain some case reporters for the UK and Europe. 

To determine the full title of an unfamiliar abbreviation, try the following resources: 

Raistrick, Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (2nd ed., Abingdon, Oxon: Professional Books, 1993). Good for European abbreviations.

Noble's International Guide to the Law Reports (Etobicoke, Ont. : Nicol Island Pub., 2002).  Especially good for case reporters.   

Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations ([New York, N.Y.]: New York University, 2006). Also available online.

Selected Web Sites: 

Translated Cases

While there are many publications that translate the text of a foreign law, there are relatively few sources for case law. 

Bulletin on Constitutional Case Law (Strasbourg: Venice Commission, 1993-).  See also CODICES, the infobase on Constitutional Case-Law of the Venice Commission.

East European Case Reporter of Constitutional Law (Den Bosch, The Netherlands: BookWorld Publications, 1994-).

International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) (UCB only).
ILDC is a regularly updated repository of domestic cases in international law from over 60 jurisdictions. The cases are selected by local reporters and feature expert commentary, full texts of judgments in their original language, and translations of key passages of non-English judgments into English.

International Law Reports (Lauterpacht, ed., London: Butterworth, 1919-). Previous titles were Annual Digest of Public International Law Cases and Annual Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases . Contains full text of cases, translated into English, from both national and international tribunals.

International Legal Materials (Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1962-). Also available on HeinOnline (UCB only), LexisNexis and Westlaw. Reprints selected cases from international courts and tribunals.

The International Criminal Law Reports (London: Cameron May, 2000-).

International Environmental Law Reports (Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1999-).

International Labour Law Reports (Alphen aan de Rijn: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1978-).

The International Trade Law Reports (London: Cameron May, 1996-)

To locate compilations of cases in English, try LawCat searches using relevant subject headings or keyword searches.  For example, The First Ten Years of the Korean Constitutional Court: 1988-1998 ([Seoul]: The Constitutional Court of Korea, 2001), The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany (2nd ed., Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1997), or Selected Judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel (Jerusalem: Ministry of Justice; New York: Oceana Publications, Distributors, 1962-).

Periodicals are an especially good for finding summaries and citations to new case law.  See Port, Japanese Intellectual Property Law in Translation: Representative Case and Commentary, 34 Vand. J. Transnat'l. L. 847 (2001).

See the Selected Web Sites section above. 

Other Sources of Law

Secondary legislation, regulations and administrative decisions are often sought after. These sources may be even more elusive than statutory law and case law. Start by using the sources mentioned in the above sections. Relevant subject headings include: delegated legislation--[country]. Secondary sources may be another way to track down relevant sources.  If a country publishes an official gazette (as most civil law systems do), you have a better chance of locating regulations, notices, circulars, etc.  See J. Roberts, A Guide to Official Gazettes and Their Contents (rev. ed., Washington, DC: Law Library, Library of Congress, 1985) or T. Reynolds & A. Flores, Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1989-) for more information. 

Citing to Foreign Law

Consult The Bluebook, Rule 20 and Table 2, for assistance with citing to foreign law. Unfortunately, not all jurisdictions are listed in Table 2, so follow the general guidelines noted in Rule 20. To locate proper abbreviations, consult Noble's Revised International Guide to the Law Reports, World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, or other sources of abbreviations. 

Some countries have their own citations manuals, such as the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation or Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

For some general information, see International Legal Citation Manual Project.

Journal Literature

As with other topics, journal literature is an excellent source for foreign and comparative law research. Use journal articles for the following:

See the Sources for Locating Journal Articles guide for this class for more information on researching journal articles.

Dictionaries and Abbreviations 

To locate bilingual or polyglot dictionaries with English as one of the languages, use the following subject headings on LawCat: 

English language--dictionaries--[language] 
[language] language--dictionaries--english
law--dictionaries--[language] 
English language--dictionaries--polyglot 
law--[country or region]--dictionaries 
[subject]--dictionaries--[language or polyglot]
law--dictionaries

LexisNexis provides access to Dahl's French-English Law Dictionary (2nd ed., Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein; Paris: Dalloz, 2001)and Dahl's Spanish-English Law Dictionary (Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein, 1999)..

Herbst, Dictionary of Commercial, Financial and Legal Terms (3 vols., Thun, Switzerland: Translegal, 1998-2003). 

West's Law and Commercial Dictionary in Five Languages: Definitions of the Legal and Commercial Terms and Phrases of American, English and Civil Law Jurisdictions (St. Paul, MN: West, 1985). 

Kavass, World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Buffalo, NY: Hein, 1991-). Covers various languages and subjects.

Torres and Avalos, Latin American Legal Abbreviations: A Comprehensive Spanish/Portuguese Dictionary with English Translations (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989).

Your Dictionary.com. Online dictionaries in many languages.

Other Information

It is inevitable that at some time during your research of a foreign jurisdiction, you will need something other than legislation or case law. One of the things you may need are forms or sample documents. Many of the books on Doing Business in or books on contracts or litigation provide these kinds of samples. For more information on forms see Foreign and Transnational Legal Forms -- this guide lists both print and electronic sources.

Background Information

Often you will need other information about a country, such as its GDP, its political leaders, literacy rates, etc. There are many print and electronic sources for this information.

The Europa World Year Book (London: Europa Publications, 1989-). 

The Statesman's Year-Book (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1864-). 

The World Almanac and Book of Facts (New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association).

The World Factbook (Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency). Also available on the web .

The Europa World of Learning (London: Allen & Unwin, 1947-). Also available online . (UCB only) .

Some useful Web sites include: 

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Detailed reports on a country's economy, commerce, finances, and other related information (UCB only). 

Comparative Law

Remember, there is no body of comparative law. It is "the study of the similarities and differences between the laws of two or more countries, or between two more more legal systems." (Berring, How to Find the Law, 9th ed., p 565). 

Comparative law books and materials present information in a couple of different ways.

Books are not the only sources, much comparative work can be found in journal literature, see above. Remember, comparative law is not a body of law, it is the process of comparing different legal systems or legal concepts.

Selected General Works

Search LawCat using the subject heading comparative law. Keyword searches are quite useful if looking for books comparing topical issues for different countries.

Comparative Law: An Introduction (Vivian Grosswald Curran, Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2002).

Comparative Law in the 21st Century (Andrew Harding and Esin Örücü eds., London; New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002).

Peter De Cruz, Comparative Law in a Changing World (2nd ed., London: Cavendish Pub., 1999).

Comparative Legal Studies: Traditions and Transitions (Cambridge, England; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

Rene David, Major Legal Systems in the World Today: An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Law (3rd ed., London: Stevens, 1985).

Mary Ann Glendon et al., Comparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell (2nd ed., St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 1999).

James T. McHugh, Comparative Constitutional Traditions (New York: P. Lang, 2002).

Werner Menski, Comparative Law in a Global Context: The Legal Systems of Asia and Africa (London: Platinum Pub., 2000).

John Henry Merryman et al., The Civil Law Tradition: Europe, Latin America, and East Asia (Charlottesville, Va: Michie Co., 1994). Successor edition to John Henry Merryman and David S. Clark, Comparative Law: Western European and Latin American Legal Systems (1978).

Raymond Youngs, English, French, and German Comparative Law (London: Cavendish Pub., 1998).

Konrad Zweigert and Hein Kötz, Introduction to Comparative Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

Comparative Law Journals

Journal articles are a very good source for comparative law. Search LawCat using the subject heading comparative law -- periodicals to locate the relevant journals. Most of these are also indexed in the legal journal indexes discussed in this class.

The American Journal of Comparative Law (Berkeley: American Association for the Comparative Study of Law, 1952-). Available on HeinOnline.

Bulletin of Legal Developments (London : British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 1966-).

Electronic Journal of Comparative Law (EJCL), publishes articles relating to comparative private law, comparative legal aspects of information technology and the methodology of comparative law.

The International and Comparative Law Quarterly (London: Society of Comparative Legislation, 1952-). Available on HeinOnline.

International Journal of Legal Information ([Nashville?] : Institute for International Legal Information, 1982-). Available on HeinOnline.

Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (Antwerp: Maklu; Baden-Baden: Nomos, [1994-).

 

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