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
Fiji (KVN)   HLS

WorldLII CommonLII PacLII

GlobaLex (South Pacific Law) LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Republic of Fiji Islands Government Gazette (not available online)


Finland (KJT)  CS FLG HLS

WorldLII

LLRX GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Virallinen Lehti/Officiella Tidningen



FINLEX (Finnish Law Data Bank comprised of six databases; in English)

Finnish Case Law Database (Finnish)

Westlaw (Patents & Trademarks)

N-Lex

France (KJV)  FLG HLS

WorldLII

LLRX (Germain) LLRX GlobaLex (resources) GlobaLex LOC

WorldLaw Guide

Legifrance (public service portal featuring access to the laws in French with links to codes in English; translations to French legal texts in English

Italian

Arabic

German

Spanish

Chinese

list of French legal texts or websites translated by institutional bodies into 30 foreign languages); Journal Officiel



UTexas (translated cases)

JurisClasseur (French-language legal information: legislation, regulations and case law; great volume of secondary legal sources and expert analysis; Yale network)

Lexis (Recherches en Francais, English Language Searches, International Arbitration, Mealey Publications, Treatise)

Westlaw (International Arbitration, Regulations, Patents & Trademarks)

Juricaf

LC Translation of National Legislation into English

N-Lex

 

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