legal research

Global Constitutionalism Seminar

The Global Constitutionalism Seminar is hosted by Yale Law School as part of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights. This annual programme brings together  Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges from around the world and Yale Law School faculty members. The website provides free access to the seminars’ ebooks back to 2012 in a range of formats (PDF, EPUB, MOBI and AZW3). Each year deals with a particular theme including governments’ authority, sources of law and rights and litigating climate change.

Laws of Botswana

Website providing access to Botswana legislation. This is a subscription site provided by Blackhall publishing. The aim is to offer subscribers principle and subsidiary legislation in force, fully consolidated and annotated. The laws are available back to 1890 and can be browsed alphabetically or by date and searched by keyword. The contents of the acts and some extracts are free to view.

Researching Comparative Constitutional Law

Online guide to the legal resources of comparative constitutional law written by Julienne E. Grant who is Reference Librarian/Foreign & International Research Specialist at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Library. The guide was published in 2020 (and updated in 2024) on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law.

Discovering the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)

Online guide to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) written by Francisco A. Avalos who is Foreign and International Law Librarian and Associate Professor for Legal Research at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. The guide was published in 2021 on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law. The author provides an introduction and background information on the USMCA which supersedes the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Māori and Indigenous Governance Centre

Website of the Māori and Indigenous Governance Centre, a research group within the Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato. The aim of the Centre is to improve governance through research, training and collaboration. A selection of recent publications can be freely downloaded from the site, and other reports are available to purchase. Recent reports have looked at Māori economic performance and ethical issues relating to biobanking and genomic research.

In Custodia Legis

In Custodia Legis is the blog compiled by staff of the Law Library of Congress. Its focus is on the work and resources of the Law Library of Congress, but posts cover a wide range of legal topics, including global law and foreign law news, legal databases and resources, library collections and research guides. 

How to Find Free Case Law Online

This is a Law Library of Congress research guide providing guidance on using the internet to identify free US cases. The guide was written in 2018 (and updated in 2019) by Barbara Bavis, Bibliographic and Research Instruction Librarian,  and Robert Brammer, Senior Legal Information Specialist at the Law Library of Congress. The guide focuses on Google Scholar, CourtListener, FindLaw, Justia, and the Public Library of Law (PLoL) website.

Law Society: Research Guides

Collection of online legal research guides provided by the Law Society Library and made freely available on its website. The guides look at finding resources such as journal articles, treaties, law reports and legislation; how to research Scottish or Irish law; and how to trace past solicitors and law firms. The guides refer to resources held by the Law Society Library, subscription and free internet resources and details of relevant organisations.

National Archives Research Guides: Criminals Courts and Prisons

National Archives staff have produced a number of research guides to assist archive users with their research. The guides are organised by subject and this guide focuses on finding historical material relating to the criminal justice system including court records, coroners’ inquests, wills, divorce and war crimes. The individual guides have information on the materials and how they can be searched. They also point to records that are available online.

National Archives Research Guides: Records for Current Legal Purposes

National Archives staff have produced a number of research guides to assist archive users with their research. The guides are organised by subject and this guide focuses on finding records that may be useful for legal purposes including birth, marriage and death certificates, changes of name and British citizenship. The individual guides have information on the materials and how they can be searched. They also point to records that are available online.

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