Foreign Law Guide (subscription database): Descriptions with sources and some links to primary sources including Official Gazettes, codifications, session laws, codes, and court reports.
Law Library of Congress: Nations of the World: Links to the Constitution, Official Gazettes, courts and legislatures, as well as to country studies and reports and research guides
NYU Law: Foreign law databases by jurisdiction, including subscription databases, guides, and news sites
Northwestern University List of Foreign Governments: Links to parliaments, government agencies, ministries, legislatures, and central banks
Bluebook Rules 20 and 21 and T2 are on citations to foreign and international law. The T2 tables on foreign jurisdictions are available free on the Electronic Bluebook. Entries for each country include links to internet sources for official legal publications.
Constitutions are the basis for each country's legal system. They will set out the authority of each of the branches of government, and the rights and duties of citizens. For some jurisdictions, the constitution is not a single document, and the constitution al laws may be titled as Fundamental Laws or Basic Laws.
Foreign constitutions are usually available in free sources, and in English translation. They may be published in the country's Official Gazette or Code. Subscription sources are more likely to have English translations, and to provide amendments and consolidated versions, history and commentaries, and links or citations to interpreting secondary sources.
Hein World Constitutions Illustrated: with commentaries and scholarly articles available on Hein. Includes historical versions, including Peaslee's Constitutions of Nations (1965-1985).
Oxford Constitutions of the World: Includes historical versions and amendments, constitutional overviews, commentaries, and a bibliography of constitutional scholarship.
Also available in Oxford databases: the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law
Constitute Project: Browse and compare constitutional provisions by subject. Created for use in constitutional drafting. Use to search for subject provisions.
CODICES database: Constitutions and laws on courts and constitutions in translation. The Précis are summaries of constitutional law decisions.
Individual statutes are published chronologically, in Official Gazettes for most countries. They may be available in free online sources, and they may only be available online. More will be available in subscription databases, especially those specific to that country. If statutes are translated into English, it is usually select major statutes, or those of interest to foreign businesses.
Some countries have collected or consolidated statutes, particularly if they don't have official codes. Consolidated statutes will incorporate later amendments but are not formally codified. Find statutes on government websites by subject or in alphabetical lists. Be sure to look for lists of acts currently in force.
Codes are comprehensive compiled legislative volumes of laws, with laws in force, arranged by subject matter. The Civil Code is the traditional primary authority in a civil law system. The standard traditional codes are Civil, Civil Procedure, Criminal, Criminal Procedure, and Commercial. Some countries have separate Family, Administrative, Fiscal, and Intellectual Property Codes. Search for newer legislation and amendments to update the code, unless you're using a subscription database or a consolidated text. Commercial versions are available in print or in databases, and sometimes on government websites.
Although some statute sources are codified or arranged by subject, or are searchable, you should also use secondary sources for finding citations.
Codes and Statutes listed by or searchable by jurisdiction:
Sources with legislation by subject are listed on the Subject Sources page of this guide.
Official Gazettes:
Official gazettes, or official journals, are daily official publications of legislation, sometimes also include administrative regulations, notices, bills, and significant judicial opinions. Some countries have a separate legal gazette for legislation and an official gazette for regulations, ministry notices, and other legal notices. They be the only official published source of law. Most are now available online, either free or by subscription. For an increasing number of countries, the online version is now official.
Even when they are searchable, as daily publications, official gazettes are large. Start by finding citations and dates from legal news or secondary sources, or use them to find the most recent legislation while using codes or consolidated statutes.
Sources with links to official gazettes include:
Sources with text from official gazettes of select countries include:
Caselaw of other countries is most likely to be available for the Court of Last Resort or Supreme Court. Constitutional review may be in a separate Constitutional Court or Constitutional Council that reviews before the bill becomes law. Published opinions and orders are frequently unavailable for trial level courts. And judicial opinions are rarely translated below the highest courts, if at all.
Reporters and official sources are best, but few libraries have large collections of foreign reporters. Commercial databases and publications will make more available but require a subscription. Court websites may include some decisions, generally the most recent. Highest court jurisprudence may be published, or summarized, in Official Gazettes. And text or summaries of judgments might be found in law journals, yearbooks, or newspapers.
Sources for Foreign Court Decisions:
