 1. What is the structure of the legal system you are intending to research?
• Is it a common law system, a civil law system, a mixed system? Is it influenced or complemented by a separate body of religious law or a socio-political system? Is there a supranational organization that also affects domestic law?
• Be sure that you have a solid grounding in the system you are looking to research, otherwise the actual process of locating what you need will be more difficult and time-consuming

 2. Identify exactly what you need —a case, a statute or law, etc.
—and how you need it
• Do you already have a citation, or will you need to consult some type of finding aid to locate the legal document you need?
– If you have a citation but do not know to what it is citing to, use a source like Prince's Bieber
Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations or the NYU
Guide to Foreign and International Legal
Citations (both available at the Reference
Desk)

• Will you be able to read it in its original language, or will you need to locate an
English translation?
– If you cannot read the native language of the source but do not need an official English translation at this point, Google Translate
(http://translate.google.com) will be your new best friend
– There are a number of commercial translation services that will translate the original full text source into English if you need to submit the source to a court

• Will an electronic version be sufficient or will you need to locate the authentic print copy?
– Remember that most jurisdictions outside the
US do not have the same rules regarding print as the most authoritative source, so there is, increasingly, every possibility that the source you are looking for (especially case law) will be
“born digital” and might not ever be printed
– Be familiar with the local court rules just in case

• Similarly, do you need the authentic fulltext of the item, or would a detailed explanation or summary of the law (in
English) be sufficient?
– If so, consider using a secondary source first and then see if you can locate the entire primary source if the need arises



3. Identify the sources of law for the country and locate those sources by:
• Search for the source/reporter in the library’s catalog to see if we subscribe to it
• Use the library’s Electronic Resources page to determine whether we subscribe to a domestic database: http://lawlib1.lawnet.fordham.edu/eresources/erlin ks/for_jur.html
• Use one of the Worldliis
• Look in GLIN
• Use a subject-specific guide —i.e., look in NATLEX for labor laws, World Bank’s Doing Business for business laws, etc.
Use the following resources to determine what you are looking for:

 Fordham Law subscription database, access through this link: http://lawlib1.lawnet.fordham.edu/eresources/ erlinks/for_gen.html
 This source is the best starting point when you do NOT have a citation or do not know where to look for a particular law.

 It is arranged by country, although not every country has an entry. Each entry will include a comprehensive essay detailing the development and function of the country’s legal system, followed by a finding aid tool for the major sources of law (i.e., codes/statutes, case law, etc.).
 The rest of the entry is organized alphabetically by topical subject headings (i.e., Antitrust,
Bankruptcy, Corporate law, etc.) which will list both where you can find major controlling legislation for that topic as well as where you can find the topic discussed generally.

 Using the Foreign Law Guide, can you locate the name/cite of the law on foodstuffs and food packaging in
Hungary?
• Is there an English translation of this law available anywhere?

 http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/index.
html
 A fantastic source for research guides on any number of foreign, international and comparative law sources. The information and articles published by GlobaLex represent both research and teaching resources used by legal academics, practitioners and other specialists around the world who are active either in foreign, international, and comparative law research or those focusing on their own domestic law

 Using Globalex, which title of Romania's
Code of Criminal Procedure is devoted to sanctions?
• Is there an English translation of this Code available for free online?

 http://www.doingbusiness.org/lawlibrary/
 my all-time favorite site for free authentic full-text sources, in English whenever possible, this site is run by the World Bank and is the largest free online collection of business laws and regulations for almost every jurisdiction that the World Bank deals with, and now includes a compilation of gender laws intended to highlight how easy it is for female entrepreneurs to start a business

 http://www.worldlii.org/
 The World Legal Information Institutes are free, independent and non-profit access to worldwide law for a variety of jurisdictions, particularly good for UK materials (BAILII) and Asian-Pacific jurisdictions (AsianLII and PacLII)


 http://www.glin.gov/
The Global Legal Information Network, run by the Library of Congress, is a public database of official texts of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations in their original languages. Each document is accompanied by a summary in English and, in many cases in additional languages, plus subject terms selected from the multilingual index to GLIN.
Unfortunately it only contains information for about 30 countries at the present time, and even then the coverage can be spotty


 http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home
database maintained by the International
Labour Organization (ILO) of national labour, social security and related human rights legislation. Records in NATLEX provide abstracts of legislation and relevant citation information, and they are indexed by keywords and by subject classifications. Each record in
NATLEX appears in only one of the three ILO official languages (English/French/Spanish).
Where possible, the full text of the law or a relevant electronic source is linked to the record.

 4. If you prefer to start with a comparative source rather than locate individual jurisdictional sources, or if you have consulted the aforementioned compilations and are still unable to locate what you are looking for, consult a secondary source
• Secondary sources often provide commentary on the legal issue, put the legal issue in context, and/or provide a summary of the relevant legal documentation

• Locate secondary sources in relevant research guides and through searching the library’s catalog
• Various compilations reprint subject-specific legislation in English with some commentary.
Examples of titles held in our library include:
– Constitutions of the countries of the world
(electronically through our electronic resources page and in print K3157.A2 C66)
– Comparative Environmental Law and Regulation
(K3585.4 .C65)
– Investment Laws of the World (K1112 .A47 I59)
–
International Copyright Law and Practice (on LEXIS and in print K1420.5 .I5)

 5. When all else fails, ask a librarian!!




Globalex’s Comparative Law research guide:
• http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Compar ative_Law1.htm
Duke’s Foreign and Comparative Law research guide:
• http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/for eign.html
Georgetown’s Foreign and Comparative
Law research guide:
• http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/Foreigna ndComparativeLaw.cfm

 Foreign Law Guide —may have direct links to full text but more often will point you in the direction of where to find it

Ocean’s Constitutions of the Countries of the World (in print and online through the Fordham Law Library)
 World Constitutions Illustrated
(HeinOnline)


If you don’t have a citation…
• your best starting point is Foreign Law Guide


If you are looking for a comparative survey of laws…
• try one of the subject-specific database like
NATLEX, Doing Business Law Library, etc.
If you have a citation already…
• try one of the Worldliis, a subscription database for that country, or the country’s legislature’s website




If you do not have a citation…
• try a secondary source, or if you have access to a subscription database for that country (i.e., Justis (UK),
LawAfrica, iSinolaw (China)), try a full text search for the topic
If you have a citation but don’t know where to find the source…
• look up the abbreviation in either
Bieber’s Citations or the NYU Guide, and then plug the name of the reporter into our catalog to see if we have access to it
If you know exactly what you’re looking for
• try the relevant Worldlii, or a subscription database for that jurisdiction —be sure you know the coverage limitations for each database so you do not waste your time looking for cases that are not reported there

>>> <xxxxxxx@optonline.net> 1/8/2010 2:20 PM >>>
Alison:
In the oddball category of inquiries, are you aware of any
English language translations of the Hasn-ho, which is the
Japanese Bankruptcy Litigation Statute.
Thanks,
Random Alumnus class of 1978

>>> <xxxxx@UNL.EDU> 3/4/2010 11:40 AM >>>
I am looking for a Russian telecommunications law (in
English) called "Resolution on the Order of Acquisition,
Use, and Provision of Geospatial Information." The only thing I have for a citation is "No. 326 from 28.05.2007."
Thanks
Random Guy from University of Nebraska-Lincoln

>>> <xxxxx@fedcourt.gov.au > 6/19/2009 5:29 PM >>>
Good Morning,
I am trying to locate a current version of the German
Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO - Zivilprozessordnung), translated into English.
Thank-you.
Regards,
Random Australian Librarian