Finding the Law of Latin America
Approaching Latin American legal research is similar to approaching legal research of any country, including the United States.
- Know the country's legal system, i.e. review a research guide
- Examine relevant and authoritative secondary sources, i.e. legal encyclopedias, law journal articles, and books (which will cite to primary sources)
- Locate primary sources: constitution, legislation/laws/codes (with commentary), judicial opinions
This research guide focuses on electronic resources to help you find the law in Latin America and the Caribbean. For researching the law of a particular country in Latin America, please see our Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Law Research to help you get started. Also, do not forget that we have current and extensive collections of many nations of the Americas on the Lower East Side.
Please do not hesitate to contact Teresa in the Foreign & International Offices for assistance.
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 and Comparative Law Guides
LLRX is a depository of research guides for topics such as immigration law, Islamic law, refugee law, parliamentary procedure, and cultural property.
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)
Guide to Foreign and Comparative Law Research at Yale
This document outlines the best approach to starting your foreign law research at Yale; it provides links to the most commonly used and best resources available, many of which are listed elsewhere on this web page.
International and Foreign Law Research Guides (GlobaLex)
Research guides on a variety of countries and international topics.
Latin American Collection
Guide to the Latin American Collection at Yale University; the Subject Guides are especially helpful
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Search by abbreviation or keyword to find legal titles worldwide (online resource).
Multilingual Terminology Database
Database of legal terms translated into many languages; created in preparation of the Slovene version of legal acts of the EU Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
World Legal Systems
Determine the legal system of the country your are researching: Civil law, Common law, Customary law, Muslim law, Talmudic law, and Mixed law systems, the latter referring not to a single system but to a combination of systems.
Access to Justice Information in Latin America
This study on access to judicial information in 10 Latin American countries, carried out by the Due Process of Law Foundation, assesses the principal laws and regulations on access to judicial information in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Panama, and Uruguay.
Biblioteca Jurídica Virtual
Created by the Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), this virtual library contains over 35 online, full-text foreign and international journals, including several indexed in IFLP.
Dialnet
Search social science journals, collected works, theses, and books from Spain to Latin America.
Digitalia Political Science & Law Resources
Hispanic law collection of more than 250 Spanish language ebooks including interdisciplinary resources on topics such immigration law, colonization, and general political science topics from both Spain and Latin America. Publishers include Trotta, Dykinson, Biblioteca Nueva, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, Pontificia Catolica del Peru, Universidad del Rosario, Argentina, and more. Updated monthly with new titles.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1974 - 1996
English-language translations of broadcast transcripts, news agency transmissions, newspaper and periodical articles, and government statements from countries around the world (Yale access only).
Handbook of Latin American Stuides
An annotated bibliography of works on Latin America covering various fields in both the humanities and social sciences. Volumes have been published annually since 1936, by Harvard University Press, the University of Florida Press, and the University of Texas Press. HLAS is edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. The printed version and the online database cover from 1936 to the present.
HAPI Online
Citations to articles on Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, the US-Mexico border region, and Latinos in the U.S.; excellent resource for human rights research (some full-text links otherwise check Orbis and Morris for journal titles) - English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German (Yale access only)
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
Information Exchange Network for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matter and Extradition
A virtual library which provides legal information related to mutual assistance and extradition for the 34 OAS member states
LANIC
Latin American Network Information Center - a multidisciplinary portal to websites and resources all over Latin America, including a category for legal resources with regional and country-specific links.
LAPOP
The open-access Latin American Public Opinion Project surveys and analyzes citizen views on system support, political tolerance, citizen participation, local government, corruption, and views on authoritarianism have been conducted and are now being archived for many Latin American countries plus Albania, Israel, Madagascar, Canada and the United States; datasets are available for Yale affiliates (Yale access only)
Latin American Journals and Serials
This is a work-in-progress website that currently contains all the holdings at Yale Law Library and will soon contain the holdings of other law libraries with Latin American collections; this is not a searchable database but merely a list of titles linked to the catalog.
Latinobarómetro
An annual public opinion survey that involves some 19,000 interviews in 18 Latin American countries, representing more than 400 million inhabitants, focusing on the development of democracy, economies, and societies (Yale access only).
Organization of American States
Official site - contains official documents, treaties, legal opinions, resolutions, declarations, news, etc. English, Spanish, Portugese, French.
SciELO
Scientific Electronic Library Online: Mostly scientific journals with a few but growing number of legal titles; consolidates Iberian and Latin American journals in an open-access, full-text database; searchable in English, Spanish and Portugese, by subject, author, keyword, or browse each journal.
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).
Chile and the United States: U.S. Policy toward Democracy, Dictatorship, and Human Rights, 1970-1990
This is a collection of 2,842 declassified records documenting the controversial history of U.S. policy toward, and relations with, Chile from 1970 when the Nixon administration decided to intervene against the Socialist government of Salvador Allende, to 1990 when the U.S.-supported military regime that deposed Allende was finally forced to step down. The collection covers a range of major issues, including the Nixon administration's policy-making process related to overthrowing Allende, the implementation of covert operations to bring about regime change, as well as its assistance in consolidating the military government led by General Augusto Pinochet. The set also contains documentation on U.S. policy toward human rights violations; international terrorism; the historic, and peaceful return to democracy in Chile; and the pursuit of justice against Pinochet.
Constituciones Latinoamericanas
Current and historical Latin American constitutions.
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.
Constitutions of the World
This website presents the results and progress of the international research project The Rise of Modern Constitutionalism, 1776 - 1849 by making available to the public all constitutional documents from that era.
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.
Documentos Digitalizados del Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional de Guatemala
Digitized documents from the Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive (AHPN), discovered in 2005. Timely resource for the study of Guatemalan history and human rights in the region. Topics include Guatemala's armed conflict between 1960 and 1996 and the sexually transmitted disease experiments performed at the behest of the United States government in the 1940s. Includes over 10 million scanned images of documents from the National Police Historical Archive.
Enrique Bolaños Presidential Virtual Library
The first virtual library of its kind in Nicaragua and Central America. Features the most complete collection of primary sources pertaining to the period of Nicaraguan history in the mid-19th century known as The National War (La Guerra Nacional); a collection of documents on the Spanish conquest of Nicaragua, focusing specifically on the period between 1503 and 1550; copies of the 100 magazines of the Revista Conservadora, published in the 1960's; and the collection of the Law Codes of Nicaragua beginning in 1821 (Independence) through 1888.
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.
Information Exchange Network for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matter and Extradition
A virtual library which provides legal information related to mutual assistance and extradition for the 34 OAS member states
InterAm Database
Database of the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade; find laws, regulations, case law, and secondary source materials for twenty-five Latin American countries in Spanish; many English translations (Yale access only).
Latin Laws -- Biblioteca Legal Latinoamericana
An invaluable portal to finding recent laws, decrees, and codes from all over Latin America, in the vernacular; also includes a regional section which contains treaties, conventions, reports and useful information for the Latin American region as a whole (requires free registration to view country-specific information).
Organization of American States
Official site - contains official documents, treaties, legal opinions, resolutions, declarations, news, etc. English, Spanish, Portugese, French.
Oxford Reports on International Law: ORIL
Oxford Reports on International Law is intended to be a single point of reference for all international law jurisprudence, providing serious researchers access to the widest possible range of international law jurisprudence. All reported decisions have a headnote, the full text of the decision, and are linked to the Oxford Law Citator. We subscribe to all five modules: International Courts of General Jurisdiction, International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law, International Investment Claims, and International Law in Domestic Courts.
Political Database of the Americas
Georgetown Center for Latin America Studies - links to government information in countries in the Americas.
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).
ASIL's Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
Includes guides for Human Rights, International Commercial Arbitration, International Criminal Law, International Economic Law, International Environmental Law, International Intellectual Property Law, International Organizations, Private International Law, Treaties, and United Nations.
International Affairs Resources
Elizabethtown - Internet directory of international affairs, relations, studies, news, etc.
International and Foreign Law Research Guides (GlobaLex)
Research guides on a variety of countries and international topics.
International and Foreign Law Research Guides (LLRX)
Research guides on a variety of countries and international topics.
EISIL
American Society of International Law's (ASIL) Electronic Information System for International Law is a comprehensive database for primary documents, websites, and research guides - a great first-stop for finding international agreements; search by title, subject, keyword // has a human rights section
Organization of American States
Official site - contains official documents, treaties, legal opinions, resolutions, declarations, news, etc. English, Spanish, Portugese, French.
United Nations Treaties Collection
Includes databases for United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS), Multilateral treaties deposited with the UN, Status of Treaties (MTDSG), Certified True Copies (CTCs) of treaties, Depositary Notifications (CNs), and more
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Decisions, provisional measures, compliance reports, and advisory opinions of the Court, the autonomous judicial body of the OAS, established in 1979 and headquartered in San José, Costa Rica; great collection of human rights instruments- English and Spanish
International Human Rights Law
Search for decisions on human rights from a variety of global and regional courts including: the European Commission of Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from 1961; decisions from the four UN Committees (Committee Against Torture, Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and Human Rights Committee, which monitors the Convention for Civil and Political Rights) which are able to deliver views in individual cases; comprehensive decisions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) and selected decisions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR); cases decided under the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, in both the Court and the Commission (Yale access only).
World Court Digest
Max Plank Institute's reproduction of judgments, advisory opinions, and orders of the ICJ and individual judges (also in print: KZ213.W67 - L1 - F/I Ref)
Comisión Andina de Juristas
CAJ promotes human rights and democracy in the Andean region. Find relevant legislation and jurisprudence from Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Derechos Human Rights
Working for the respect and promotion of human rights all over the world, with special projects in Latin America
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Cases and reports of the Commission, headquartered in Washington DC, created in 1959 as an autonomous body of the OAS that provides recourse to individuals who have suffered human rights violations - English, Spanish, French and Portuguese
Andean Community
An organization that promotes development and cooperation between Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Caribbean Community
An organization that aims for economic and social development of the Commonwealth Caribbean
Doing business in Latin America and the Caribbean : including Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, Central America, South America
Provides tips and information on doing business in 41 countries in this region. In addition to identifying product demand, market trends, demographics, and resource availability, the author explores investment opportunities, trade incentives and barriers, and political climates that can foster or inhibit success.
Doing Business Law Library
The World Bank's open-access law library to business laws and regulations around the world.
Free Trade Area of the Americas
An organization of 34 democracies in the region that aim for political and cultural co-operation
Inter-American Specialized Conferences
This resource is maintained by the legal department of the Organization of American States. It provides access to the international private law instruments adopted at the Inter-American Specialized Conferences on Private International Law as well as the Organization's recent activities in that area
InterAm Database
Database of the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade; find laws, regulations, case law, and secondary source materials for twenty-five Latin American countries in Spanish; many English translations (Yale access only).
International Investment Claims: ORIL
With over 300 awards at launch and more being added regularly, the International Investment Claims module makes it possible for the first time to search this growing and influential body of jurisprudence alongside other areas of international law.
Investment Claims: OUP
OUP's resource for materials and analysis in the field of international investment law and arbitration; contains awards you may not find in ICSID Reports and database (Yale access only).
Kluwer Arbitration
Kluwer Arbitration offers worldwide coverage of commercial and investment arbitration; includes case law, commentary, conventions, legislation and rules.
Kluwer Law International Journals
A variety of business, arbitration, environmental, tax, and trade law titles (Yale access only).
Latin American Integration Association
ALADI/ LAIA is a Latin American organization dedicated to integration between its 12 Latin American member states
LexisNexis "Doing Business in" Series
The Doing Business in Series covers the law of Spain, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru in English (Yale access only).
Mercosur Trade Center
Mercosur is a regional trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay
Summit of the Americas Information Network
"The Summit of the Americas brings together the Heads of State and Government of the Western Hemisphere to discuss common concerns, seek solutions and develop a shared vision for their future development of the region, be it economic, social or political in nature."
In English and Spanish
