BHRH Lawyers' Network Spring Meeting

Kyle K. Courtney, Esq.

Northeastern UniversitySchool of Law

Human Rights Institute, ColumbiaLawSchool

May 25th, 2010

I. Introduction

General Overview of the International and Foreign Legal Systems

II. Secondary Resources

Research Guides Print and Online

Major Reference Works

Dictionaries and Citation Guides

Foreign Law Portals

Subject and Regional Sites

Journals and Law Reviews

III. PrimaryDocuments and Finding Tools

Caselaw and Jurisprudence

International Instruments

IV. Translation Resources

V. Current Awareness Resources

Updates Online

Blogs

VI. Research Strategies

VII. Research Example

BHRH Lawyers' Network Spring Meeting

Kyle K. Courtney, Esq.

Northeastern UniversitySchool of Law

Human Rights Institute, ColumbiaLawSchool

May 25th, 2010

I. Introduction

General Overview of the International and Foreign Systems

•Common Law

•Civil Code

•Combination of both

•Religious Law

•Customary Law

World Legal Systems, University of Ottawa

•Public International Law

•Private International Law

•Comparative Law

•Transnational Law

•Supranational Law

II. Secondary Sources

Research Guides Print and Online

Quick Guide: Foreign Legal Research Basics (GeorgeWashingtonUniversity)

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law

Intute Foreign Law Guides (UK Based)

LLRX Guides – Law Library Resource Xchange

GlobaLex – Foreign, Comparative and International Law Research

Major Reference Works

Foreign Law Guide(formerly Foreign Law: current sources of codes and legislation in jurisdictions of the world.) Now available only as an online subscription database.

Germain’s transnational law research: a guide for attorneys. (Transnational Juris Publications).

Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia. (Hein, Inc).

Martindale Hubble International Law Digest (Lexis) Now available only on CD-Rom or online.

Dictionaries and Citation Guides

Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (W.S. Hein)

Cardiff's Guide to Legal Abbreviations (CardiffUniversity)

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citations(Harvard Law Review)

Various Foreign Law Dictionaries/Deskbooks

NYU School of Law Guide to Foreign and Law Citations (register to download)

The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA)

Foreign Law Portals

Nations of the World, Law Library of Congress (LLOC)

The World Law Institute(WorldLII)

GLIN - Global Information Network (Library of Congress)

vLex

Subject and Regional Sites

EUR-Lex: The Portal to European Union Law

Raising the Global Floor (McGillUniversity)

OAS’ Secretariat for Legal Affairs

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE): Legislation

Refugee Caselaw (University of Michigan Law School)

i.lex (The Legal Research System for International Law in U.S. Courts, ASIL)

Journals and Periodicals

Full Text Journal Databases:

HeinOnline

JSTOR

Lexis

Westlaw

Google Scholar (Legal)

Bibliographic and Selected Text:

European Integration Current Contents

International Journal of Constitutional Law

Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law

III. Primary Documents and Finding Tools

Caselaw and Jurisprudence

International Law Reports

ILM (International Legal Materials)

American Journal of International Law

International Decisions

Contemporary Practice of the U.S.

International Instruments

UN Based Research – ODS

ILM (International Legal Materials)

Electronic System for International Law (EISIL)

Bayefsky

HuriSearch

IV. Translation Resources

Babel Fish:

Systran:

Google language Tools:

FreeTranslation:

WorldLingo:

“Official”Translation of Foreign Laws

Specialized periodicals (e.g. East European Constitutional Review).

Constitutions of Countries of the World (Oceana)

Oxford Reports on International Law (ORIL)

International Constitutional Law (ICL)

Institute of Global Law Online (now at Univ. of Texas at Austin)

V. Commercial Databases

Lexis

Legal materials for other countries include databases for:

•Canada (case law, regulations and statutes)

•Australia (case law)

•Canada (case law, regulations and statutes)

•India (case law)

•Ireland (case law)

•Malaysia (case law and legislation)

•Mexico (statutes and case law in Spanish)

•New Zealand (case law)

•Singapore (case law)

•South Africa (case law, legislation and regulations)

•United Kingdom (case law and legislation)

Other Lexis Databases:

The “Doing Business in….” Series

Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest

International Legal Materials

Business analyses and country information

Country reports

Westlaw

Legal materials for other countries include databases for:

•Australia (case law, statutes and regulations)

•Canada (case law, statutes and regulations)

•Hong Kong (case law and legislation)

•Indonesia (regulations)

–ENFLEX-IO (Indonesia Environmental, Health & Safety Laws and Regulations)

•United Kingdom (case law, statutes and regulations)

•European Union Case Law and Legislative Materials

•Human Rights Law Reports

•Multinational Courts and Tribunals

Hein Online

Foreign & International Law Resources Database (FILRD):

•International Yearbooks and Periodicals

•U.S. Law Digests

•International Tribunals/Judicial Decisions

•Other Significant Works Related to Foreign and International Law

VI. Current Awareness

Updates Online

Government Gazettes(University of Michigan)

Global Legal Monitor(Law Library of Congress)

Blogs

Opiniojuris

International Law in Brief (ILIB)

International Law Prof Blog

VII. Research Strategies

VIII.Research Examples