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Waterlex Legal Database

The Waterlex Legal Database brings together information about national and international water law, governance and policy. It is provided by Waterlex, an international NGO. The data is partly crowd-sourced and partly obtained from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and other official bodies. The database is searchable by key word and can be filtered by country, region and/or type of document. For many countries, extracts from legislation are available, with links to the full text on national websites.

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA): International Law

International law section of the Swiss foreign ministry’s website, covering topics such as privileges and immunities, neutrality, international humanitarian law and international agreements. Official reports and manuals are provided, together with links to relevant Swiss legislation and international conventions. The International Agreements page has a database of treaties involving Switzerland and provides information about the treaties for which the Swiss government is the depositary. The site is in French, German, Italian and most – but not all - of it is also available in English.

Morocco - Constitution

1992 consolidated version of the Constitution of Morocco, on the International Constitutional Law (ICL) website (provided by the University of Bern in Switzerland). Some brief contextual information is also give. The text of the Constitution contains keyword links that can be used to find similar sections in other constitutions.

Jurisprudence (OHCHR)

Database of all cases decided by UN human rights treaty bodies: the Human Rights Committee (CCPR), the Committee against Torture (CAT), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Juris Diversitas

Juris Diversitas is an association for the study of legal mixtures and movements. Its President is Sean Patrick Donlan from the University of Limerick in Ireland. The association has developed an interdisciplinary approach to comparative law, encompassing anthropology, geography, history, philosophy and sociology in relation to law. The website has a blog and gives information about the association’s publications, projects and events.

Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail

Website of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) the body set up by the Convention Concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) 1980. OTIF is involved with the development of rail transport law including areas such as contracts of carriage for the international carriage of passengers and goods, the carriage of dangerous goods and the removal of obstacles to the crossing of frontiers in international rail transport.

African Online Library on Law and Governance

Large free collection of African law materials, including constitutions, legislation, treaties, court decisions, journal articles and some books, together with a news service and networking opportunities. Registration is required, but there is no charge. The Library can be browsed by country, organisation, or journal title, and there are simple and advanced search facilities. For each country, there is a brief description of the legal system, a list of intergovernmental organisations in which it participates and other information.

UNCTAD Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator

Compilation of information about pending and concluded arbitrations from 1987 onwards, provided on the UNCTAD website. ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC and other cases are covered. For concluded cases, the information provided includes dates, parties and countries, the type of investment, the legal instrument involved, the arbitration rules/venue, brief details of the decision, the amount sought and the amount awarded. Where possible, links to the full decision are provided. To search the database, click on ‘Show display options’

Universal Human Rights Index

Database of country-specific human rights information, provided by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, originally developed at the University of Bern. The Index brings together recommendations, reports, concluding observations from the different parts of the UN human rights protection system: the Treaty Bodies, the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Constitution of Belgium

This site contains the full text of the 1994 Belgian Constitution, made freely available in English by International Constitutional Law (ICL) at the University of Bern in Switzerland. A constitutional background is provided including history and revisions. The Constitution covers the structure of the state, citizens’ rights, the legislature, the monarchy, the executive, provincial, regional and local government and bodies, the judiciary and constitutional court, international relations, finance, the army and police and the revision of the constitution.

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