Foreign Law Research
Some Starting Points
[last updated Feb. 2008]
There is a growing body of foreign law freely available on the Internet. Sites may provide access to legislation, case law, administrative law, and/or secondary sources. As with any electronic sources, the breadth and depth of coverage varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and some sites may only have very recent material. The texts are usually not official. Below is an annotated list of useful sources that can be starting points for research. These websites can be browsed and may have their own internal search capabilities. Not all websites are in English. Some of these sites work together and share materials. For sources on official gazettes, see entries at bottom of page.
World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII). A great compilation of databases/materials from 123 countries around the world often reflecting materials from several legal information institutes below. Also a useful catalog/index to web sites by jurisdiction or by topic with relevant hyperlinks.
Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII). Varying resources for the following jurisdictions: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (North), Korea (South), Lao People's Democratic Republic, Macau (China), Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (Taipei, China), Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Find also the following multi-national organizations: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII). Extensive legislation, case law, administrative law, and selected secondary sources for Australia (federal and state), New Zealand, and Norfolk Island.
British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII). Extensive legislation, case law, administrative law, and selected law commission & law reform reports for Ireland, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England & Wales. Also, case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, Court of First Instance, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) (English text). Extensive legislation, case law, and administrative law for Canada (federal and provincial).
CIA World Factbook. While this website does not have the text of laws or cases, it can be useful for background statistics and other reference information on countries throughout the world. Updated regularly.
Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII). Draws much material from other LIIs, but not all. Covers the following Commonwealth countries: Antiqua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, and Zambia. Following territories & dependencies: Bermuda, Cook Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Islands, and Tokelau. Also following common law jurisdictions: Hong Kong (China) and Ireland.
Droit Francophone (in French). Varying resources for the following jurisdictions: Albania, Andorra, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lebanon (Liban), Luxemburg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius (Maurice), Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Romania, Rwanda, St. Lucia, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Former Republic of Yugoslavia & Macedonia.
EUR-Lex (English text). Access to European Union law. Legislation, regulations, case law, treaties, Official Journal, and more.
Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) (US Library of Congress). Searchable database of selected legislation, case law, regulations, and secondary sources from numerous countries and selected international organizations. Texts may be in languages other than English, but may be accompanied by an abstract in English. Jurisdictions with full text access: Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea (South), Kuwait, Lithuania, Mali, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Organization of American States (OAS), Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, United States. Jurisdictions limited to abstracts or summaries: Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, MERCOSUR, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Nations, and Venezuela.
Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII). Legislation, case law, administrative regulations, and selected secondary sources for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The legislation and some case law is published in both English and Chinese.
InfoLEG (Argentina) (in Spanish). Legislation, Boletin Oficial, constitution, case law, administrative law. Link to Mercosur materials.
Irish Legal Information Initiative (IRLII). Ireland's legislation, case law, regulations, and an index to Irish legal periodicals. Irish legislation is much more current here than on the BAILII website above.
JuriBurkina (Burkina Faso) (in French). Case law from courts and tribunals.
Kenya Law Reports (Kenya). Legislation, case law, selected sections of the Kenya Gazette, and selected secondary sources.
LawPhil (Philippines). Legislation, case law (jurisprudence), constitution, administrative agencies, and more.
Legifrance (France) (in French). Text of legislation, administrative law, official journal and bulletins, case law, and other secondary sources. Also links to French texts of EU treaties, laws, directives, and court decisions. Text of the French codes in English are not current and not official.
New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII). Decisions of courts and tribunals, the New Zealand Treaty Series, law commission reports, and selected secondary sources.
Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (PacLII). Varying resources from individual jurisdictions: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Island, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Nanuatu. May have case law, legislation, and selected secondary sources. Pacific Islands Treaty Series is under construction.
Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII). Widely varying resources from the following jurisdictions: Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Broadest coverage is for South Africa. Also decisions from the following regional courts: COMESA (Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa), East African Court of Justice at Arusha, and the SADC Tribunal (Southern African Development Community).
University of Michigan Directory of Government Gazettes Online.
Swiss Institute of Comparative Law library of official gazettes.
See also Global Legal Information Network above.