Researching Foreign and Comparative Law

Introduction

  • 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 (Law Library Call Number: K559 .G545X 2014 - there are also 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2010 editions of this book available). You may also consult GlobaLex to familiarize yourself with the legal system of a jurisdiction.
  • 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    • There may not be published sources of law for a particular country.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.
  • Consult the Law Library's Database page, or search Quicksearch Databases for additional resources. Be sure to be logged into the VPN if off campus.
  • Several databases require specialized login credentials; please inquire at reference.law@yale.edu when you need login information.
  • People who can help you:
  • 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
  • When searching QuickSearch, utilize the assigned subject headings (SH) to locate additional related materials: browse subject headings starting with an item or search subject headings.
    • Subject headings can be country or region-specific, topic, subject or area of law specific, or a combination:
      • Sri Lanka (country-specific) | International Law Africa (region and area of law specific) | European Union (region-specific) | Great Britain Administrative Law (country and subject-specific) | United Nations Charter (subject-specific)
    • Because alike items are shelved together, shelf-browsing can still be a useful technique.
  • Inter-library Loan & Borrow Direct, EliExpress – when we don’t have what you need!
  • WorldCat - to find books in non-Yale libraries around the world 

Primary Sources

  • Constitutions of the Countries of the World - English and vernacular
  • Laws / Statutes
    • Country-by-Country Research Guide – 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.
      • Foreign Law Guide – subscription database covering approximately 190 jurisdictions; information on sources of foreign law (statutes, codes, gazettes, judicial decisions), citations to legislation, existence of English translations.
      • GlobaLex – an open-access electronic publication dedicated to international, foreign, and comparative law research. Articles are written by a body of global experts. Include information on legal systems, and sources of law (codes, statutes, gazettes, judicial decisions), with links to sources and bodies.
      • LLRX – in-depth legal research guides with links to legislation and legislative bodies.
      • Nations of the World – Law Library of Congress’ lists of web links to legislation and legislative bodies.
      • Law Library of Congress Guide Translation of National Legislation into English (2012) -  a guide to finding translations of laws of Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, and Russia International Organizations International Courts.
      • WorldLII – open access portal with links to electronic sources of legislation and legislative bodies.
    • Country Gazettes
    • Catalogs – Quicksearch, Worldcat, Harvard Hollis, Library of Congress Guide to Law Online
      • Title search (codigo civil)
      • Keyword search (code and spain) or (codigo and spain)
      • Subject Heading search (civil law – spain)
    • Practical Guides such as the series “Doing Business in…”
    • Yearbooks for each country - landmark cases and statutes: Keyword search in QuickSearch ex) yearbook and Spain.
  • Case Law
  • Dockets/Court Filings: See this guide 

Secondary Sources

  • Secondary resources (research guides, treatises, books, law review articles) can lead you to primary sources (constitution, statutes, cases); it is always good to begin your research using secondary resources, such as those listed below
  • Research Guides
    • Yale's Country-by-Country Research Guide – 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.
      • Foreign Law Guide – an in-depth research guide for every country, with titles of print and links to electronic primary and secondary sources
      • GlobaLex – in-depth legal research articles on foreign, international, and comparative law subjects
      • LLRX – in-depth legal research guides
      • WorldLII – lists of links to electronic resources
      • HLS – Harvard's lists of links to foreign law online sources
      • Guide to Law Online – Library of Congress' lists of web links
    • International Legal Research in a Global Community (Law Library Call Number: KZ1234 .K84 2018)
    • International Legal Research in a Nutshell, 3rd Ed. (Law Library Call Number: KZ1234 .H64 2021 - L1, Ref, F/I Ref)
    • Legal Research in a Nutshell, 15th Ed. – F/I chapters (Law Library Call Number: KF240 .C54 – L1, Ref, F/I Ref)
  • Encyclopedias and other reference materials give an overview of jurisdiction and/or subject matter often annotated and with a bibliography -- Begin with Keyword searches in Quicksearch and Orbis (e.g. encyclopedia and environment*)
    • Multinational Sources Compared: A Subject and Jurisdiction Index, Alena L. Wolotira & Sherry L. Leysen (Law Library Call Number: K85 .W65 2017 - Foreign and International Reference; also on HeinOnline)
    • International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (Law Library Call Number: K530 .I57 – F/I Office)
    • Encyclopedia of World Constitutions (Law Library Call Number: K3157.E5 E53 – Ref)
    • Legal Systems of the World (Law Library Call Number: K48 .L44 – Ref)
    • Oxford Companion to Law (Law Library Call Number: K48 .W34 – Ref, F/I Ref, UES)
    • Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (Law Library Call Number: K48 .E42 2006 and 2012 – F/I Ref, Ref, UES) (print)
    • Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (Online Book 2023)
    • Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia
    • Germain’s Transnational Law Guide (Law Library Call Number: K85 .G47 )
    • Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest (1993-2006) (Law Library Call Number: K526.2 .M37 – Ref)
    • Szladits – A Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English (1955 – 1998) (Law Library Call Number: K38 .B53 – L1, F/I Office)
  • Scholarly articles (all are Yale subscriptions except open-access SSRN and Google Scholar)
    • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP) – index of foreign law review articles with links to Yale full-text resources
    • EBSCO Legal Source – some full-text
    • HeinOnline Kluwer Law International Journal Library (selective collection)
    • Kluwer Online Subject Heading
    • Hein Online – great when you know the citation
      • English Reports (1220 - 1865)
      • European Center for Minority Issues
      • Foreign and International Law Resources
      • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP)
      • International and foreign law journals
      • Israel Law Reports
      • Kluwer Law International Journal Library
      • Law in Eastern Europe
      • Philippine Law Collection
      • Revised Statutes of Canada
      • World Treaty Library
      • World Trials Library
    • Westlaw and Lexis – full-text searching; not much non-English material
    • SSRN – full-text working papers; great for cutting-edge research
    • Google Scholar – Yale links to full-text subscription-based journals and open-access scholarship
    • JSTOR – interdisciplinary, full-text, mostly US/UK; includes some Foreign/International journals
  • Monographs
    • We have over 200,000 foreign and international law monographs
    • Begin with Keyword searches in Quicksearch
    • When you find a relevant book, if you want to find more like it
      • click on the Call No. (KKT246 .B46 - for example) to see what books are grouped with it -- or go to the stacks
      • click on the Subject Heading (Civil Law – Spain) to find other books
    • Older monographs are held in the off-campus Library Shelving Facility (LSF) and can be requested from the catalog.
  • Dictionaries