Global law

Death Penalty Worldwide

This website provides information and analysis relating to death penalty law and practice in around 90 countries. It was established by Professor Sandra Babcock of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern Law School's Bluhm Legal Clinic in the US, in partnership with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The site’s main component is the Death Penalty Database, covering capital offences; treaty ratifications; national and international cases; methods of execution; statistics on death sentences and executions; and other topics.

Socialist Lawyer

The journal of the London-based Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, an association independent of any political party. The journal is available the Society’s website from issue 42 (November 2005) onwards. It covers legal developments in the UK and overseas, with a focus on civil liberties and social justice. Past issues of the journal are provided in full, in pdf format, while access to the current issue is limited to selected articles.

International investment agreements navigator

Free database of around 2,800 international investment agreements (IIAs), compiled by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Covers both bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and multilateral agreements. Users may browse by 'economy' (meaning 'country') or by international organisation; there is also a search facility. Dates of signature and entry into force are available, together with the text of each agreement; many are available in English even where there are no English-speaking parties. (At the time of writing, the interactive map on this site did not appear to work.)

Jurist: World Law

The World Law page of the Jurist website offers a set of guides to the legal systems of the world. Each country’s guide covers the Constitution, government and legislation, courts and judgments, human rights, the legal profession and law schools. Links to key websites for each country are also provided. Jurist is a legal education website provided by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Doing business: law library

Gateway to business laws and regulations from all over the world, compiled by the World Bank’s Doing Business project. Gives links to official sources as far as possible, and many of the texts are in English translation. Can be browsed by country or region. The areas of law covered are: banking, bankruptcy, civil codes, civil procedure, commercial and company law, constitutional law, employment law, land and building law, privacy, securities, tax and trade.

Canon Law

Article on canon law, as published in the Catholic Encyclopedia online, made available on the New Advent website. The article was written by A. Boudinhon, and transcribed by David DeWolf. It discusses the differences between canon law and ecclesiastical law, and describes the sources and divisions of the body of laws of the Christian Church. It outlines the historical development of collections of canon law texts from the early Christian Church to modern times, and describes the different types of text (bulls, briefs, concordats, etc).

LLRX.com

LLRX.com (Law Library Resource Exchange) is a free legal technology e-journal for information professionals specialising in law. It provides resource guides, feature articles and columns on legal research and technology issues. Articles can be browsed by date, author, or subject, and there is a search facility. Many articles focus on US law, but foreign law is also covered, and most of the technology articles are not limited to a particular jurisdiction.

Swiss Institute of Comparative Law

The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (Institut suisse de droit comparé, or ISDC) was established in Lausanne in 1982. Its primary task is to prepare legal opinions in respect of foreign law for the Federal authorities, courts, lawyers and other individuals. It also produces studies in comparative law, holds colloquia and carries out research projects. The Institute has an extensive law library, whose catalogue is available via the website. A set of legal links for countries from Afghanistan to Zambia is available on the Law Online page, annotated in English.

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