Country-by-Country Guide to Foreign Law Research

This country-by-country guide will help get you started on your foreign law research by connecting you to the best research guides and databases for each country. 

Notes about the guide:

  • Links under Country go to the CIA's World Factbook.
  • The LC Call Number indicates where the print materials for that country are located on the Lower East Side (LES) of the Yale Law Library.
  • The Regional Map icons go to a map of the larger geographical region.
  • LC Country Studies provide social, political, legal and economic information
  • The FLG is the outstanding and comprehensive Foreign Law Guide which will give you the historical, political and legal framework for each country plus the past and current sources of legal information, including where to find legislation, codes and case decisions, print and online. This is a Yale subscription database.
  • HLS refers to Harvard Law School's list of online guides to doing legal research in foreign jurisdictions.
  • WorldLII is a directory of legal information available on the Internet.
  • The Online Guides column includes the most substantial guide available from a library or research site.
  • The World Law Guide is a good resource for current legislation.
  • The Gazettes column features a link to the country's national gazette.
  • Finally, the Other Databases column lists other valuable subscription or open-access databases or websites for that country.
Country
LC Call Number Range
Regional Map LC Country Study FLG HLS Legal Information Institute (WorldLii) Online Guides WorldLaw Guide Gazettes Other Databases
Saint Kitts and Nevis (KGW)  FLG 

WorldLIICommonLII

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Official Gazette of Saint Kitts and Nevis (not available online)


Saint Lucia (KGW)  FLG 

WorldLIICommonLII

LLRX GlobaLex (Caribbean)
LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Saint Lucia Gazette


Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (KGW)  FLG 

WorldLIICommonLII

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (not available online); some laws and regulations available at I.F.S.A.


Samoa (KWW)   HLS

WorldLIICommonLIIPacLII

GlobaLex (South Pacific Law) LOC

WorldLaw Guide

The Samoa Gazette (not available online)


San Marino (KKS)   

WorldLII

LLRX GlobaLex (microstates)
LOC



Bollettino ufficiale della Republica di San Marino (not available online)


Sao Tome and Principe (KTF)   

WorldLII

LOC



Diário da República Electrónico


Saudi Arabia (KMT)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Umm al-Qura (not available online)


Senegal (KTG)  FLG HLS

WorldLIIDroit Afrique

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Journal Officiel



Juricaf

Serbia (KKZ)  FLG HLS

WorldLII

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Sluzbeni Glasnik


Seychelles (KTH)  CS FLG 

WorldLIICommonLIISAFLII

LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Official Gazette (not available online)


Sierra Leone (KTJ)  FLG HLS

WorldLIICommonLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Sierra Leone Gazette (not available online); some laws can be found here



Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Report
(TRC final report and popular versions, recommendation matrix, national vision for Sierra Leone, images, video testimony, research data, legal resources, bibliography, extensive links).

Singapore (KPP)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLIIAsianLIICommonLII

Gov't GlobaLex LOCSupreme Court of Singapore(Open access for 3 months)The Subordinate Courts of Singapore(District & Magistrate Courts Judgments and Family & Juvenile Court Judgments)

WorldLaw Guide

Republic of Singapore Government Gazette

Singapore Law Watch 



Lexis (Case Law, International Arbitration)

Westlaw (Law Reviews, Bar Journals & Legal Periodicals)

Justis (Law Reports)

LawNet (Law Reports, Judgments, Decisions, Bills) Access via SCC Online

Singapore Statutes Online (Official Singapore Government website for online publication of legislation provided and maintained by the Attorney-General's Chamber)

Slovak Republic (Slovakia) (KJP)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLII

GlobaLexLOC

WorldLaw Guide

Zbierka zákonov



Slovakia Case Law Database (Slovak)


Statistics of Legislation (a database run by the National Council, in English)

N-Lex

Slovenia (KKZ)  FLG HLS

WorldLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Uradni list Republike Slovenije



Slovenia Case Law Database (Slovenian)

Slovenian Supreme Court (Slovenian)


Ministry of Justice of Slovenia (comprehensive information on courts in Slovenia)

N-Lex

Solomon Islands (KWL)   HLS

WorldLIICommonLIIPacLII

Solomon Islands LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Solomon Islands Gazette (not available online)


Somalia (KTK)  CS FLG 

WorldLII

GlobaLex LOC



The Somalia Gazette (not available online)


South Africa (KTL)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLIICommonLIISAFLII

Northwestern LLRX GlobaLex GlobaLex(disability) LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Government gazette (Staatskoerant/ Republic of South Africa) is not fully available available online; National, Provincial and Regulation Gazettes as well as some legal notices and tenders are available at GreenGazette and at GICS some legislation is available at ActsOnline.



Lexis (Case Law, International Arbitration, Legislation & Regulations)

Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) (can be downloaded as pdf)

South Korea (KPA)  CS  HLS

WorldLIIAsianLII

GlobaLexLOC

WorldLaw Guide

Gwanbo (in Korean)


Spain (KKT)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLII

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Boletin Oficial del Estado



vLex  (laws, cases, scholarship - Yale network only)

La Constitution Espanola de 1812 (constitution)

La Biblioteca Digital de Derecho (historical books and manuscripts)

European Case Law Database (Spanish)

Lexis (Treatises, International Arbitration)

Westlaw (Environmental, Health & Safety Regulations, Patents & Trademarks)

Consejo General del Poder Judicial (Spanish court cases, in Spanish)

N-Lex

Sri Lanka (KPS)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLIIAsianLIICommonLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka



LawNet -- Sri Lanka's Legal Information network

 

Sudan (KTQ)  CS  

WorldLII

GlobaLex GlobaLex(Darfur) LOC GlobaLex (South Sudan)

WorldLaw Guide

Sudan Gazette (not available online)



Emory Law School

Suriname (KHS)  FLG 

WorldLII

LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname



WashLaw

Latin Laws -- Biblioteca Legal Latinoamericana

Swaziland (KTR)   

WorldLIICommonLIISAFLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Swaziland Government Gazette (not available online)


Sweden (KKV)  FLG HLS

WorldLII

LLRX (Scandinavia) LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

No gazette published, see 'Rixlex' in 'Other databases'



Rixlex (official government documents)

Westlaw (International Arbitration, Patents &Trademarks)

N-Lex

Switzerland (KKW)  FLG HLS

WorldLIIDroit

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Recueil Officiel des Lois Fédérales



The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation (comprehensive legal information, partly in English)

Schweizerisches Bundesgerich (all decisions of the Supreme Court of Switzerland, in German, French, and Italian)

The Swiss Portal of the Federal Government and the Cantons (provides access to official websites of the Swiss cantons)

Westlaw (International Aribtration, Patents & Trademarks)

Juricaf

Syrian Arab Emirates (Syria) (KMU)  CS FLG 

WorldLII

GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

No gazette available



Emory Law

 

Stephanie Davidson created the original version of this guide for a clinic several years ago. It has since been modified to suit general foreign law research. Thanks to Zhang Yue, YC '10 and Anna Ershova, YC '11 for their assistance in updating this guide.

Questions/Comments