Comparative Law

Basic guide to researching foreign law

Online guide to researching foreign law written by Mary Rumsey who is Foreign, Comparative & International Law Librarian at the University of Minnesota. The guide was published in 2005 and updated in 2016 on the Globalex website and is made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law. The author focuses on finding the laws of countries other than the U.S and emphasises statute rather than case law.

FLARE Foreign Official Government Gazettes

FLARE is a searchable database of foreign official government gazettes developed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) to provide bibliographic and source information (including details of print holdings in UK libraries and links to online versions) for foreign gazettes. Gazettes can be searched by title, country, region, publisher or location. Links are given to digitised versions and location details including classmarks for print copies.

Center for Comparative Constitutionalism

The Center for Comparative Constitutionalism (CCC) at the University of Chicago is concerned with the study of constitutional rights and "the wide range of ways in which societies attempt to secure constitutional rights to their citizens." The CCC's website gives details of the Center's projects and events including study papers which can be downloaded in PDF format and lectures which can be heard in RealOne Player or Quicktime Player (both of which can be freely downloaded on the site).

European Group on Tort Law

The European Group on Tort Law is made up of scholars in the area of tort law and the website is hosted by the University of Girona in Spain. The group has produced a collection of Principles of European Tort Law which is focused on the harmonisation of tort law across Europe. The report is made freely available on the site in a range of formats and languages (including non-European languages). There are profiles of members of the group and details of their publications; some of these have links to the full text.

Institute of Business Law and Comparative Law and Politics

Website of the Institute of Business Law and Comparative Law and Politics (IBC), University of Tokyo. The IBC was formed in 2006 through the integration of the Center for Foreign Law Materials (established in 1963), the International Center for Comparative Law and Politics (ICCLP, established in 1993) and the Business Law Center (established in 2001). The site has information about the activities of the Institute. It provides access to a few full-text publications, such as the ICCLP Review (1998-2002), and gives bibliographic details of others.

Société de Législation Comparée

The Société de Législation Comparée (SLC) was founded in France in 1869. Its members are academics, lawyers and judges with an interest in comparative law, in France and elsewhere. It has consultative status with the UN, the ILO and the Council of Europe. The website includes conference papers and speeches. Contents lists from recent issues of the Société's journal, the Revue Internationale de Droit Comparée (RIDC), are provided, with abstracts of selected articles; there are also details of forthcoming events and guidance on applying for membership.

Boston College International and Comparative Law Review

The Boston College International and Comparative Law Review is a biannual journal publishing commentary on international and EU law issues. It includes articles by both students and academics. Each spring issue of the journal features articles on a variety of international and comparative law topics; each winter issue is a survey of European Union developments. The website makes available several old issues of the journal (1999 to 2002), free of charge.

British Institute of International and Comparative Law

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) is a London-based organisation focusing on international law, comparative law and the rule of law. BIICL was established in 1958, incorporating the Grotius Society and Society of Comparative Legislation. The BIICL website describes the institute's aims and activities, including research projects, publications, forums and events. A collection of articles is provided on the Insights page and there are brief details of the journal, International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ).
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