Government bodies

Community Plant Variety Office

The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) implements and applies the European Community's system for the protection of plant variety rights which "allows intellectual property rights, valid throughout the Community, to be granted for plant varieties". It has been operating since 1995 and is based at Angers in France. Its website gives details of its work; has a section containing the relevant legislation and published decisions of the CPVO's councils and boards of appeal. Application forms for plant variety rights can be downloaded.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

The website of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania is available in both English and Lithuanian. It contains information about the Court including details of its functions and powers, proceedings and judges, and the text its rulings, decisions and conclusions from 1993 onwards. The site has statistics on petitions and inquiries received at the Court from 1993 onwards and text of the Constitution and the Law on the Constitutional Court. A list of publications of the Court and links to other sites containing Lithuanian legal information are also provided.

Cour d'Appel de Bourges

This website presents basic information on the administration of justice in the jurisdiction of the Cour d'Appel de Bourges in France. Three French departments are included in the jurisdiction: Cher, Indre and NiÌvre. There are lists of personnel (presidents, judges and clerks) for the various courts and tribunals in the area. Basic information on the French justice system is also included. The site can be viewed in French only.

Parlamento Italiano

Official website of the Italian parliament, containing information about its members, functions and the election of a president. The site is published in Italian only. It contains the text of all laws (leggi) from 1996 onwards. These can be browsed by date, by type of act and by subject. Legislation in progress can also be browsed, along with the decreti-leggi currently being considered and decreti-legislativi from 1996 onwards. Reports, agendas and other documents relating to parliamentary proceedings are also provided along with information on the work of parliamentary committees.

Respublika Kareliya

Official website of the Republic of Karelia, one of the autonomous republics of the Russian Federation, located in the north-west, bordering Finland. The site includes the contact details of the principal executive and legislative bodies, links to government departments, policy documents and legal texts. It is available in Finnish, English and Russian languages, with the Russian-language version being the most comprehensive.

Grondwettelijk Hof van België

Website of the Constitutional Court of Belgium (formerly the Belgian Court of Arbitration). The Court's jurisdiction includes "the review of laws, decrees and ordinances with Title II of the Constitution (Articles 8 to 32 on the rights and freedoms of the Belgians) and with Articles 170 and 172 (legality and equality of taxes) and 191 (protection of foreign nationals)", and derives its authority from the Belgian constitution.

Supreme Court of Korea

Website of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea which is based in Seoul and consists of a chief justice and 13 justices. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Korea and hears appeals from the High Courts and the appellate divisions of the District Court. The site provides profiles of the Chief Justice and the Justices and a brief history of the Korean judicial system. There is a description of the organisation and functions of Korea's 3 tiers of courts along with background information on judges and judicial administration.

Supreme Court of Canada

Official website of the Ottawa based Supreme Court of Canada. Information on the role of the court and background to the Canadian judicial system is provided along with an outline of the constitutional framework, organisation of the courts and judiciary. A history of the Court and profiles of the current and past chief justices and justices of the court are included. A timetable of hearings and searchable database of cases is given on the site.

Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Website of the judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago. This site includes details about the Supreme Court and the Magistracy, including the administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago, and the appointment of the judiciary. Also available are judgments of the Court of Appeal and the High Court back to 1997. The Law Library section of the site provides a database of case summaries from the 1990s onwards, many of which have links to the full judgment.

Bundesarbeitsgericht

Website for the Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court), the highest federal court in Germany for cases concerning all aspects of employment law. The site is made freely available on the internet and includes background information on the history, organisation and structure of the court, together with details of the appointment of judges, lay members and research associates.

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