legal history

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation : US Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1873

A collection of historical documents presented by the Library of Congress, recording the construction and development of the United States of America. The documents provide a record of American history in the words of those who built the government. Titles in the collection concerned with the Constitutional Congress and the Constitutional Convention include: Journals of the Continental Congress, Eliot's Debates and Farrand's Record. Statutes and Documents include: Statutes at Large and the US Serial Set.

United States Statutes at Large

Library of Congress web service providing a digital version of early volumes of the US Statutes at Large, the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress which began publication in 1845. Page images from the original published text are presented on the web as part of the American Memory, Library of Congress "Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation" collection, containing US Congressional documents and debates. All public and private law enacted by the Congress appeared in Statutes at Large in date of passage order.

Medieval Sourcebook : Laws of William the Conqueror

The text of the Laws of William the Conqueror established in consultation with his magnates after the conquest of England. The laws affirm faith in God and a desire for peace between the English and Normans and also affirm the law of King Edward in respect of lands and possessions. Among its decrees are loyalty to the King, the King's protection of his subjects, the conduct of relations between the English and the French, and the treatment of offenders. The full-text (HTML) is available on the Medieval Sourcebook, hosted by Fordham University in the United States.

Charter of Liberties of Henry I, 1100

Full text of the Charter of Liberties of Henry I, 1100, issued by the King when he ascended the throne. The Charter granted the laws of Edward the Confessor, as amended by William the Conqueror, to the people, and established the rule of law in England. The Charter was an important pre-cursor to Magna Carta. This text is available on the Medieval Sourcebook, hosted by Fordham University in the United States.

Famous Trials

Website compiled by Doug Linder, Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, for educational and non-commercial purposes. Provides materials relating to famous trials, mostly American, ranging in date from the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, to the Clinton Impeachment Trial of 1999. World trials are also featured e.g. the trials of Socrates and Galileo and the Nuremburg Trials.

Constitutions of Clarendon, 1164

Web pages containing the text of the Constitutions of Clarendon, a written statement by Henry II of England, made at Clarendon, near Salisbury, in 1164. The 16 articles concern the relationship between church and state in England and set out to limit the secular power of the church and ecclesiastical courts. These pages form part of the Medieval Sourcebook, an internet resource on medieval history, maintained by Paul Halsall and hosted by Fordham University in New York.

Roman Law Resources

Website providing information on Roman law sources and literature and on the teaching and study of Roman law. The site has been developed by Ernest Metzger at the Centre for the Study of the Civil Law Tradition, University of Aberdeen. Materials include collections of primary and secondary full text sources on Roman and civil law and links to the full-text online versions of Justinian's Digest and Palingenesia of Latin Laws. The site features a bulletin board, links to legal journals in the field, bibliographies, portals, projects and teaching materials.

À la Recherche des Travaux Préparatoires : An Approach to Researching the Drafting History of International Agreements

Guide to researching the drafting history of international agreements, by Jonathan Pratter, Foreign and International Law Librarian at Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin. The guide was published in 2005 (and updated in 2025) on New York University's Globalex website. The author provides an introduction to travaux préparatoires, guidance on how to find them and details of publications which can help with this search.
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