BHRH Lawyers' Network Spring Meeting
Kyle K. Courtney, Esq.
Northeastern University School of Law
Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School
May 25th, 2010
I. Introduction
General Overview of the International and Foreign Legal Systems
II. Secondary Resources
Research Guides Print and Online
Major Reference Works
Dictionaries and Citation Guides
Foreign Law Portals
Subject and Regional Sites
Journals and Law Reviews
III. Primary Documents and Finding Tools
Caselaw and Jurisprudence
International Instruments
IV. Translation Resources
V. Current Awareness Resources
Updates Online
Blogs
VI. Research Strategies
VII. Research Example
BHRH Lawyers' Network Spring Meeting
Kyle K. Courtney, Esq.
Northeastern University School of Law
Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School
May 25th, 2010
I. Introduction
General Overview of the International and Foreign Systems
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Common Law
Civil Code
Combination of both
Religious Law
Customary Law
World Legal Systems, University of Ottawa
http://www.juriglobe.ca/
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Public International Law
Private International Law
Comparative Law
Transnational Law
Supranational Law
II. Secondary Sources
Research Guides Print and Online
Quick Guide: Foreign Legal Research Basics (George Washington University)
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/InternationalForeignbasics.cfm
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
http://www.asil.org/erghome.cfm
Intute Foreign Law Guides (UK Based)
http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/law/
LLRX Guides – Law Library Resource Xchange
http://www.llrx.com
GlobaLex – Foreign, Comparative and International Law Research
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/
Major Reference Works
Foreign Law Guide (formerly Foreign Law: current sources of codes and
legislation in jurisdictions of the world.) Now available only as an online
subscription database.
Germain’s transnational law research: a guide for attorneys. (Transnational Juris
Publications).
Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia. (Hein, Inc).
Martindale Hubble International Law Digest (Lexis) Now available only on CDRom or online.
Dictionaries and Citation Guides
Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (W.S. Hein)
Cardiff's Guide to Legal Abbreviations (Cardiff University)
http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citations (Harvard Law Review)
Various Foreign Law Dictionaries/Deskbooks
NYU School of Law Guide to Foreign and Law Citations (register to download)
https://its.law.nyu.edu/jilpgfilc/
The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA)
www.law.ox.ac.uk
Foreign Law Portals
Nations of the World, Law Library of Congress (LLOC)
http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/nations.html
The World Law Institute (WorldLII)
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html
GLIN - Global Information Network (Library of Congress)
http://www.glin.gov/
vLex
http://vlex.com/
Subject and Regional Sites
EUR-Lex: The Portal to European Union Law
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
Raising the Global Floor (McGill University)
http://raisingtheglobalfloor.org
OAS’ Secretariat for Legal Affairs http://www.oas.org/dil/
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE): Legislation
http://www.legislationline.org/
Refugee Caselaw (University of Michigan Law School)
http://www.refugeecaselaw.org/
i.lex (The Legal Research System for International Law in U.S. Courts, ASIL)
http://ilex.asil.org/
Journals and Periodicals
Full Text Journal Databases:
HeinOnline
JSTOR
Lexis
Westlaw
Google Scholar (Legal)
Bibliographic and Selected Text:
European Integration Current Contents
http://centers.law.nyu.edu/jmtoc/index.cfm
International Journal of Constitutional Law
http://icon.oxfordjournals.org/
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law
http://www.mpil.de/ww/en/pub/library/catalogues_databases.cfm
III. Primary Documents and Finding Tools
Caselaw and Jurisprudence
International Law Reports
ILM (International Legal Materials)
American Journal of International Law
International Decisions
Contemporary Practice of the U.S.
International Instruments
UN Based Research – ODS
http://documents.un.org
ILM (International Legal Materials)
Electronic System for International Law (EISIL)
http://www.eisil.org
Bayefsky
http://www.bayefsky.com/
HuriSearch
http://www.hurisearch.org/
IV. Translation Resources
Babel Fish: http://world.altavista.com/
Systran: www.systransoft.com
Google language Tools: www.google.com/language_tools?ht=en
FreeTranslation: www.freetranslation.com
WorldLingo: http://www.worldlingo.com/wl/translate
“Official” Translation of Foreign Laws
Specialized periodicals (e.g. East European Constitutional Review).
Constitutions of Countries of the World (Oceana)
http://www.oceanalaw.com/
Oxford Reports on International Law (ORIL)
http://www.oxfordlawreports.com/
International Constitutional Law (ICL)
http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/index.html
Institute of Global Law Online (now at Univ. of Texas at Austin)
http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/transnational/work_new/
V. Commercial Databases
Lexis
Legal materials for other countries include databases for:
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Canada (case law, regulations and statutes)
Australia (case law)
Canada (case law, regulations and statutes)
India (case law)
Ireland (case law)
Malaysia (case law and legislation)
Mexico (statutes and case law in Spanish)
New Zealand (case law)
Singapore (case law)
South Africa (case law, legislation and regulations)
United Kingdom (case law and legislation)
Other Lexis Databases:
The “Doing Business in….” Series
Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest
International Legal Materials
Business analyses and country information
Country reports
Westlaw
Legal materials for other countries include databases for:
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Australia (case law, statutes and regulations)
Canada (case law, statutes and regulations)
Hong Kong (case law and legislation)
Indonesia (regulations)
– ENFLEX-IO (Indonesia Environmental, Health & Safety Laws and
Regulations)
United Kingdom (case law, statutes and regulations)
European Union Case Law and Legislative Materials
Human Rights Law Reports
Multinational Courts and Tribunals
Hein Online
Foreign & International Law Resources Database (FILRD):
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International Yearbooks and Periodicals
U.S. Law Digests
International Tribunals/Judicial Decisions
Other Significant Works Related to Foreign and International Law
VI. Current Awareness
Updates Online
Government Gazettes (University of Michigan)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/gazettes/
Global Legal Monitor (Law Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news
Blogs
Opiniojuris
http://opiniojuris.org
International Law in Brief (ILIB)
http://www.asil.org/ilibmenu.cfm
International Law Prof Blog
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/international_law/
VII.
Research Strategies
VIII. Research Examples