Research guides can help the foreign legal researcher:
- Gain an understanding of the legal system in a particular jurisdiction, thereby helping them to understand what sources of law may be relevant to their question;
- Identify the official publications of primary law in the jurisdiction, and/or of secondary sources that publish or discuss the primary law of the jurisdiction; and
- Identify online databases containing primary law from that jurisdiction, whether in the jurisdiction's official language(s), or offering translations.
Some guides provide narrative descriptions of content, while others are merely lists of hyperlinks. When consulting research guides:
- Always check for currency; older guides may not reflect recent changes in the law, and more likely to contain dead hyperlinks (though they may nevertheless prove useful).
- Determine the guide's authorship and consider the author's level of expertise.
- Note that some guides will contain links to subscription resources available at the author's institution. Hyperlinks to that content as hosted by another institution are of limited value to you as a VU patron, but if an item is of interest, look to the Vanderbilt library catalog or our list of databases to determine whether we may hold it.
GlobaLex
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GlobaLex Foreign Law ResearchGlobaLex provides foreign legal research guides that are written by experts, updated periodically, and provide links to other free online content. GlobaLex has published hundreds of foreign legal research guides discussing particular jurisdictions. When available, select the "UPDATE" link to view the most recent guide.
In addition to its jurisdiction-specific guides, GlobaLex offers more than dozen comparative guides covering regions or subject areas, which are also worth consulting as their coverage sometimes differs from the jurisdiction guides.
Foreign Law Guide
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Foreign Law GuideA subscription resource, content in the Foreign Law Guide is organized both by jurisdiction and by subject area.
Profiles of individual jurisdictions typically include:
- Type of legal system
- The names of official primary law publications for that jurisdiction
- Where to find English translations of primary law for online
- The most recent codes (for civil law countries)
- The names of (and hyperlinks to) foreign legislation on specific topics
- Authoritative secondary sources discussing particular legal topics for that jurisdiction
Law Library of Congress Research Guides
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Guide to Law OnlineThese guides, available for many jurisdictions, offer links to sites for branches of government within those jurisdictions, as well as to related legal guides and resources for those jurisdictions. These guides may also include, where applicable, links to articles regarding legal developments within or involving the jurisdiction from the LOC's Global Legal Monitor publication, and to legal reports published by the LOC.
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Foreign Law Research Guides & BibliographiesIn addition to the Guides to Law Online, the Library of Congress also publishes more detailed legal research guides and bibliographies for certain jurisdictions, and guides to customary law in certain jurisdictions.
Research Guides from Academic Libraries
You may also locate legal research guides for a specific jurisdiction or region from a university library. Even though the links to the books and databases may be to resources available through that institution, you may find that you can find the books available at Vanderbilt Libraries. Items not available at Vanderbilt may be available for lending from other research libraries via Interlibrary Loan.
Below are links to a few examples of research guides from reputable institutions. When searching the web for legal research guides discussing a particular jurisdiction, you are likely to find similar guides.
Tools for Identifying the Legal System & Other Background
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The World FactbookPublished by the U.S. CIA, The World Factbook is a free reference tool available on the web that offers researcher a basic understanding of a jurisdiction's legal system, government, and politics via its country profiles. Use the drop-down menu at the upper-left to select a jurisdiction.
