Researching Constitutions:
Comparative Constitutional Law
Robin R. Gault
Associate Director
October 2008
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
The idea of a constitution.
What is it? Why is it? Why compare?
U.S. Constitution as model for others.
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Researching the Constitution
Congressional Research Service Annotated
Constitution:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/
PDF of print version from GPO:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html
Annotated Constitutions in print and online: U.S.
Code Annotated (KF 62 W4, also in Westlaw) and
U.S. Code Service (KF 62 1972 L38, also in
Lexis.)
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Court Decisions
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
The U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court Official Page:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
Cornell LII Supreme Court Collection:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Researching
Foreign Constitution Texts
Subscription database:
Oceana Publications, [Constitutions of the]
Countries of the World & [Constitutions of]
Dependencies and Territories: In paper at
K 3157 E5 B6. Connect online through
Research Center webpage:
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/lawdatabases.
html
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Foreign Constitutions on the Web
University of Richmond Constitution Finder:
http://confinder.richmond.edu/
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Washburn Law School WashLaw:
http://www.washlaw.edu/
http://www.washlaw.edu/forint/alpha/c/consti
tutionallaw.html
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
World Legal Information Institute:
http://www.worldlii.org/
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Foreign Law in
Westlaw and Lexis
Lexis > Legal > Find Laws by Country or
Region
Lexis > Legal > Area of Law – By Topic >
International Law
Westlaw > Directory >
International/Worldwide Materials
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Researching
Analytical Sources
Limited utility of constitutional texts.
Need for background, history, analysis.
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Locating Treatises
and Essay Collections
FSU Library Catalog:
Click on link on Research Center home
page.
Use keywords “comparative” and
“constitutional” to begin search.
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Locating Articles
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (Full
Text and Retrospective):
Click link on Research Center page:
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/legalresearch.
html#mostusedlegal
Use keywords “comparative” and
“constitutions” to start.
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Articles Online
Note that you can link to full text of many
articles from the ILP cite.
You can also use the E-Journals search
feature to locate specific journals online at
FSU. Click link on Research Center page
or go to http://www.lib.fsu.edu/find/journals
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
Online Research Guides on
Comparative Constitutional Law
Georgetown Law Library:
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/Compa
rativeConstitutionalLaw.cfm
Cleveland-Marshall Law Library:
http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/resour
ces/lawpubs/ComparativeConstitutionalLa
wGuide.html
Florida State University College of Law Research Center
A Few Recent Books
Choudry, The Migration of Constitutional Ideas
(Law K 3165 M54 2006)
Goldsworthy, Interpreting Constitutions: A
Comparative Study (Law K 3165 I584 2006)
Maddex, Constitutions of the World (Law K 3157
E5 M33 2001)
McHugh, Comparative Constitutional Traditions
(Law K 3165 M39 2002)
Venter, Constitutional Comparison (Law K 3165
V46 2000)
Florida State University College of Law Research Center