Government bodies

Hungarian Intellectual Property Office

The website of the Hungarian Patent Office provides guidance and legal information on obtaining patents and trademarks in Hungary. Copies of Hungarian laws and regulations are provided online along with contact details of Hungarian patent agents. The site also includes information on plant variety protection, utility model protection, trademarks, designs and copyright issues in Hungary. The Hungarian Industrial Property Database, which has information on patents, utility models, trademarks and designs protected in Hungary, is free to search on the site.

Italian Constitutional Court

Official website of the Italian Constitutional Court. This site includes information about the work of the court including brief biographical details of its President, Vice President and judges. A calendar of public hearings and closed sessions is given along with court pronouncements and summaries (in Italian only) of judgements back to 1956. Recent judgements (from 2006 onwards), felt to be of interest to foreign users, can be viewed in English in full text.

Caribbean Court of Justice

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is a regional judicial tribunal established in 2001. It replaced the Privy Council as the final court of appeal for member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2005. The court's website provides its judgments from 2005 onwards, together with legislation, court rules, papers and articles. There is also background information about the CCJ and its jurisdiction and its judges.

Sentencing Council

The Sentencing Council website provides information on the work of the  Sentencing Council for England and Wales. This body "promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary". There is information on sentencing guidelines, the Sentencing Code and how sentencing works. There is also guidance on going to court and the sentences handed down for common offences. 

 

Attorney General's Chambers (Brunei)

Website of the Attorney General of Brunei Darussalam, the principal legal advisor to the government. Provides background information on the role of the Attorney General and a list of all holders of the post back to 1959. Outline information on the divisions of the Attorney General's Chambers dealing with civil law, criminal law and legislative drafting is also given. Selected laws of Brunei are available on the site in PDF format.

International Criminal Court

Website of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based at the Hague in the Netherlands. It role is to promote the rule of law and deal with the most serious international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The founding Rome Statute is available on the website, together with other basic legal texts, information about ongoing cases and annual reports. Background information about the Court is also provided, including details of its history, organisation and management. The site can be viewed in English or French.

Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa

Official website of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. The site gives background and historical information about the court including brief details of judges and a collection of speeches delivered by the Chief Justice. Full text judgements of the Court are available online back to 1999. These can be browsed by date or name. The Court's bulletin gives information on judgements reserved, cases enrolled for hearing and appeals disposed of without written reasons.The Court roll, practice directions and a page of related web links are also provided.

Land and Property Services

Website of the Land and Property Services (formerly Land Registers of Northern Ireland) a government agency whose purpose is to "record accurate details of legal interest in land in Northern Ireland". The service is made up of three registries- the Statutory Charges Registry, the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. The site explains the land registration systems in Northern Ireland and how to carry out searches. There is a glossary of terms and a selection of FAQs.

Planning Inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate is the government agency dealing with planning and enforcement appeals. The Inspectorate's work also involves holding inquiries into local development plans and dealing with listed building consent appeals. The site provides information on the types of appeal that can be made and a selection of forms can be downloaded from the site in either PDF or Word format. Planning Inspectorate publications are made freely available on the site and include information on rights of way, environmental appeals, codes of conduct and planning policy guidance.

Codex Alimentarius

The Codex Alimentarius is a set of internationally-agreed food standards developed by the FAO and WHO. The website provides standards, guidance and codes of practice, as well as databases of information about pesticides, veterinary drugs and food additives. There is information about the Codex committees and taskforces and a collection of publications. The site is available inArabic, Chines, English, French, Russian or Spanish.

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