Foreign and Comparative Law Research Guide
- Foreign law is the domestic law of a country other than the United States. Comparative law is the study of domestic law between or among individual countries. (Treaties and other international agreements fall under International Law).
- Know what type of legal system(s) pertains to your country (civil law, common law, mixed jurisdiction, etc). See, World Legal Systems or Legal Traditions of the World: Sustainable Diversity in Law (K559 .G545X 2010 - there are also 2007, 2004, and 2000 editions of this book available).
- Caveats:
- There may not be published sources of law for a particular country.
- If there are, the sources may not be in English.
- If sources are available in English, Yale Law Library may not have them (but we probably do!).
- If they exist in our collection, they may not be current, or the translations may not be accurate.
- Yale’s F/I webpage – This is an evolving consolidation of F/I electronic resources, primary and secondary sources, subscription and open access.
- Several databases require a password; passwords can be found on your Inside home page under your Research Sites.
- F/I collection and people who can help you:
- The world (other than below) – Dan Wade (L1)
- Iberia & Latin America – Teresa Miguel (L3)
- General F/I reference – Ryan Harrington (L1)
- China, Japan, Korea – Evelyn Ma (L1)
- Russia, Poland, Slavic languages – Barbara (Basia) Olszowa (L1)
- European Union, UK, Ireland – John Nann (L3)
- Law Library of Congress classification system – help you know how our collection is organized. All Law is classified under the letter “K." For example,
- United States law - KF
- European Union law - KJE
- Kenyan law - KSK
- Inter-library Loan & Borrow Direct, EliExpress – when we don’t have what you need
Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Law Research
Portal to research guides and major databases for every country; these research guides vary from explanatory legal system guides to lists of legal resource links; includes links to the Foreign Law Guide, the World Legal Information Institute, and other portals and foreign legal research guides.
Foreign Law Guide
Great background information into every country's history and legal system. Also listed in the Country-by-Country Guide above. FLG is a comprehensive list of primary and secondary sources in print and on the Internet. This is the electronic version of Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World - Z675.L2 A23 no. 33 - L1 - F/I Reference - (*database available via Yale network only)
International Comparative Legal Guides
The ICLG series provides current and practical comparative legal information on a range of practice areas. Selective contents are free upon registration.
International Legal Research in a Nutshell
This Nutshell provides a basic introduction to international legal research for the non-specialist. It offers guidance through the unfamiliar pathways of research using international legal materials and demystifies the world of treaties. Since it's aimed at the non-specialist, it provides straight-forward background information on the United Nations and the European Union and includes guidance using the documents and legal materials of these institutions.
LLRX
In-depth legal research guides that cover different aspects of foreign and comparative law.
WorldLII
Lists of links to electronic resources including legislation and legislative bodies
Yale’s F/I Webpage
Consolidation of F/I databases and guides -- check for databases specific to your jurisdiction
Bibliography on foreign and comparative law : books and articles in English
Compiled and annotated by Charles Szladits.
Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law
This encyclopedia on comparative law is intended by editor Smits (European private law, Maastricht U., the Netherlands) to be a reference work that will allow a general readership to take stock of the field in its current state. Thirty-seven entries explore specific areas of the law, including criminal law, administrative law, insolvency law, et cetera. Twelve are dedicated to analysis of methodological questions in comparative law, such as the aims of comparative law, the idea of a European Civil Code, and legal transplants. Relatively substantial entries examine common law and the legal systems of the US, Germany, Japan, Scotland, and Russia, so chosen because of their importance in recent comparative law debates.
Encyclopedia of World Constitutions
This three-volume encyclopedia, put together by Robbers (law, Institute for European Constitutional Law, U. of Trier, Germany), is essentially a comparative introduction to the political constitutions of the world's countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Germain's transnational law research : a guide for attorneys
Germain, Claire (1991-) - L3 Reference, L1 F/I Reference, UES. There is a section on international and foreign taxation in Chapter IV.
International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law
An excellent source that offers a wealth of information on comparative law. F&I Reference.
Legal Systems of the World : a Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia
Some 400 entries cover countries (even those as small as San Marino), US states, law systems, judicial bodies and organizations, and concepts such as alternative dispute resolution, capital punishment, retribution, and legal pluralism. The articles covering individual countries begin with general information about population, geography, and current economic and political conditions, then describe the country's legal structure, as well as how and how well the system functions.
Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest
Martindale-Hubbell (2005) - summary of tax laws with citations to legislation on a country-by-country basis; Lexis: INTDIG
Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia
An introduction to the major legal systems in the world,with coverage ranging from legal education and the way ofprofessional practice, to the form of government andsubstantive law. Also available online through HeinOnline (see 'electronic resource' below).
Oxford Companion to Law
Concise information about legal institutions, courts, judges, jurists, systems, branches, ideas and concepts, doctrines and principles.
The New Oxford Companion to Law
For any reader needing a concise yet expert explanation of a subject in law, the New Oxford Companion to Law is the ideal reference work. Providing greater depth than can be found in legal dictionaries but always accessible to the non-specialist, entries in the Companion cover all areas of law and legal systems and are extensively cross-referenced for ease of navigation. The Companion draws upon the expertise of over 700 scholars and practitioners, offering the widest possible range of perspectives on legal topics.
Databases & Article Searching -- Yale University Library
Google Scholar
Provides .pdf image and text for journals in the arts and humanities, back to the beginning of the journal (in most cases), and up to 2-3 years of current. Look for Yale Fulltext links to access the materials directly.
HeinOnline Treaty & Agreements Library
Available to the Yale community, this database includes official and unofficial treaty publications, indices, and treaty treatises.
Full-text treaties Library - U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST); Treaties and International Acts Series (TIAS); Kavass agreements; International Legal Materials (ILM); Treaties and Other International Agreements 1776-1949 (Bevans) vol. 1-13 (1776-1949); Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreements (Malloy), vol. 1-4 (1776-1937); Treaties and Other International Acts of the USA (Miller), vol. 1-8 (1776-1863); Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Kappler), 1902-1971; Treaties in Force; Guide to U.S. Treaties in Force; variety of treaty texts*
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP)
Index of foreign and international law review articles (if you don't find the journal via Yalelinks, do a Title search in Morris for the journal just to be sure) - Yale access only
Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) 1908-
Mostly domestic, includes ILP Retrospective, for coverage from 1908 forward.
JSTOR
Interdisciplinary, full-text, mostly US/UK; includes some F/I journals - subscription database with access to Yale community only
Kluwer International Encyclopedia of Laws
The law library has access to modules in: Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Media Law and Family and Succession Law.
Kluwer Law International Journals
A variety of business, arbitration, environmental, tax, and trade law titles (Yale access only).
LegalTrac
LegalTrac provides indexing for more than 1,400 titles including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals. LegalTrac also contains law-related articles from over 1,000 additional business and general interest titles. Covers 1980-present
Online Journals & Newspapers -- Yale University Library
vLex Global
World-wide legal database containing legislation, jurisprudence, commentary, forms, legal news, and more from many countries (extensiveness of each collection varies) including Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile (Search in English or the vernacular; materials in the vernacular with some translation capabilities) (Yale access only).
We have over 200,000 foreign and international monographs.
- Begin with keyword searching in Morris/Encore and/or Orbis
- When you find a relevant book in MORRIS, if you want to find more like it, click on the Call No. (KKT246 .B46) to see what books are grouped with it (Virtual Shelf Browsing is available only in the classic MORRIS interface; not in Encore)
- Alternatively, click on the Subject Heading (Civil Law – Spain) to find other books that have been assigned this same label
Our foreign law collections for each country are not so large that you can’t just go into the stacks on the LES with the Call Number of the country you are researching (e.g. KKT for Spain) and browse the shelves. No country occupies more than a few rows, and most take up less than one.
Older monographs are held in the off-campus Library Shelving Facility (LSF) and can be requested from the catalogs.
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
A comprehensive list (more than 35,000) of abbreviationsused in legal encyclopedias, law dictionaries, lawreporters, loose-leaf services, law reviews, legaltreatises, legal reference books and citators. In additionto providing the meaning of abbreviations and acronyms, thisedition also enables the user to locate the abbreviationsfor titles, terms and names used in legal literature. Also available online through Lexis.
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Search by abbreviation or keyword to find legal titles worldwide (online resource).
EU guide to online dictionaries
Stuck for a term in an EU language? Need background information on the EU and its member countries?
Here's our pick of links you may find useful (for every EU language) (Online resource).
Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations
Created by the Journal of International Law and Politics at New York University, The Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations is the most comprehensive source for international citations rules.
Constitutions of the Countries of the World, Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories, Constitutions of the U.S.: National and State
Current and selected historical Constitutions via Oceana - Click on "Connect via IP Access" and select the desired database.
World Constitutions Illustrated
HeinOnline's database contains the current constitution for every country in the world in the original language and English translations where available; also find more than 800 classic books on constitutions, constitutional history and jurisprudence, and political and economic history (Yale access only)
Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Law Research
Portal to research guides and major databases for every country; these research guides vary from explanatory legal system guides to lists of legal resource links; includes links to the Foreign Law Guide, the World Legal Information Institute, and other portals and foreign legal research guides.
Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
Law Library of Congress' public database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations - official documents in original language with some English translations.
The World Law Guide
A comprehensive sources that covers most countries of the world.
vLex Global
World-wide legal database containing legislation, jurisprudence, commentary, forms, legal news, and more from many countries (extensiveness of each collection varies) including Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile (Search in English or the vernacular; materials in the vernacular with some translation capabilities) (Yale access only).
WorldLII
Lists of links to electronic resources including legislation and legislative bodies
Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Law Research
Portal to research guides and major databases for every country; these research guides vary from explanatory legal system guides to lists of legal resource links; includes links to the Foreign Law Guide, the World Legal Information Institute, and other portals and foreign legal research guides.
Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
Law Library of Congress' public database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations - official documents in original language with some English translations.
International Law in Domestic Courts: ORIL
Landmark cases from foreign jurisdictions translated into English and commented upon by recognized scholars
International Law Reports
Reports of decisions of international courts and arbitrators as well as judgments of national courts.
International Legal Materials
Search ASIL's compilation of international laws, treaties, decisions, and declarations on Westlaw (database: ILM), Lexis (file-name: ILM), and HeinOnline. American Society of International Law, Washington, DC, 1962-Present.
vLex Global
World-wide legal database containing legislation, jurisprudence, commentary, forms, legal news, and more from many countries (extensiveness of each collection varies) including Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile (Search in English or the vernacular; materials in the vernacular with some translation capabilities) (Yale access only).
WorldLII
Lists of links to electronic resources including legislation and legislative bodies
Library of Congress
This resources allows searching by title, as well as keyword search and heading search.
ORBIS
Yale University Catalog contains bibliographic records of books and other materials available through the Yale University libraries. Search by title, keyword, or subject heading.
WorldCat
WorldCat is the Online Computer Library Center's (OCLC) online "union catalog"; that is, its database of over 1 billion records of books and other materials held in more than 10,000 academic, public, special and national libraries around the world. Use WorldCat to locate materials outside of Yale, in almost any area of study, or to locate items in specific libraries and research collections. WorldCat provides catalog records for books, maps, sound recordings, musical scores, films, archives, and computer files held in research, corporate, and public libraries, as well as museums, archives and historical societies. All searches may be easily printed, downloaded or e-mailed directly to you.
NEW ! Click on the Yale links icon and then on the link for submitting an Interlibrary Loan request to obtain items that Yale does not own.
Yale subscribes to a paid version of WorldCat, click of 'Access database.''
