legal history

American Society for Legal History

The American Society for Legal History seeks to further scholarship, teaching and study relating to all legal systems. ASLH draws its membership from teachers, academics, practitioners and students interested in legal history. Its website has information about publications, including the book series, Studies in Legal History; the journal, Law and History Review; and the ASLH newsletter. The Resources page gives an introduction to the subject of legal history and makes available the society's official statements. The site also includes the podcast, Talking Legal History.

Index to 19th Century French Political Trials from the Labadie Collection

Index to a collection of more than 400 verbatim reports of trials against leaders of revolts, journalists and their editors, which took place in France during the 19th century. The reports are part of the Labadie Collection at the Special Collections Library of the University of Michigan and the index is published on the Library's website.

Oxford University Comparative Law Forum

This web-based journal and discussion forum was established in 2000 by members of the Law Faculty at the University of Oxford. Its aim is to promote the study and discussion of legal issues from a comparative perspective. All articles are available in full, free of charge. Most of the articles are in English, but a few are in German or French with a summary in English. Users are encouraged to register for a free discussion platform via a brief online form and to submit comments on the articles.

Court of Restitution Appeals reports

This site provides access to full text law reports of the United States Court of Restitution Appeals, digitised and made freely available online by Harvard Law School Library. During World War Two the Nazis compelled many victims in occupied countries to sell properties and businesses. After the war the Western Allies agreed to restitute property taken and the United States, France and Britain each passed different legislation governing the restitution of property taken by Nazis.

Early English Laws

The Early English Laws project has undertaken to produce new editions and translations of all English law codes, edicts and treatises up to the year 1215, and to publish them on this website and in print. Numerous new editions are already available on the Laws page, together with digitized versions of the original source manuscripts. It is possible to view corresponding pages of the manuscripts and edited texts side-by-side, and scholars may add their comments online. The Reference page provides a set of essays, a bibliography and a glossary.

Haymarket Affair Digital Collection

The Haymarket Affair Digital Collection has been created by the Chicago Historical Society and is made freely available on their website. The Haymarket Affair refers to the violent confrontation between protestors supporting striking workers and the police which took place in Chicago's Haymarket Square in May 1886. The protestors were convicted after a bomb was thrown and several police killed.

Stair Society

Website of the Stair Society an organisation established in 1934 "to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of Scots Law by the publication of original documents and by the reprinting and editing of works of sufficient rarity or importance". The site has organisational and membership information about the Society and details are given of the annual lectures held by the Society.

Scottish legal history: a research guide

Online guide to Scottish legal history, from the feudal period to 1901, written by Yasmin Morais who is Cataloging Librarian at the Mason Law Library, University of the District of Columbia. The guide was published in 2008 (and updated in 2017) on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School at the New York University School of Law. The guide gives an introduction to the development of the court system and the establishment of the early Scottish parliament.

English Reports

A CommonLII database providing free access to the English Reports, a collection of the most important cases reported between 1220 and 1873. Decisions can be searched or browsed by case name or date and downloaded in PDF format. Data has been supplied by online legal publisher, Justis. The Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII) is a collaborative service providing free access to primary legal materials from Commonwealth and common law countries and territories.

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