Reference sources

Muslim Family Law Index

Research project based at Syracuse University in the United States, assessing Islamic / Muslim family laws in 53 jurisdictions from the point of view of human rights and the rule of law. The site provides indexes showing the extent of adherence to human/women’s rights and the rule of law. It also makes available an outline of the research methodology, downloadable data, a list of publications and a database of national legislation (free registration required for access to the database).

Human Dignity Trust

The Human Dignity Trust is a British charity providing legal expertise to LGBT activists in countries where private, same-sex, consensual sexual activity is illegal. It supports strategic litigation and provides advice on reforming discriminatory laws. Its website has detailed global information about criminal laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, with a map, a history of LGBT criminalisation and a tool showing the status of criminal laws in Commonwealth jurisdictions. There is also a set of videos covering court cases, activists’ stories and related topics.

Trans Legislation Tracker

Trans Legislation is an independent research organisation monitoring US state and federal legislation relating to trans and gender-diverse people. Its online tracker provides detailed information about anti-trans bills and monitors their progress; it also covers Presidential executive orders. Full tracking information is available for each year from 2022 onwards, while earlier information (2015 onwards) can be found under ‘The Rise of Anti-Trans Bills’.

State Legislation Tracker

Online tool tracking the progress of both pro- and anti-LGBTQ+ state legislation in the United States. Gives the current status of each bill and offers AI-generated comparisons between versions. Users can register for alerts regarding particular bills. The tracker is provided by the Equality Federation, a non-profit network for state LGBTQ+ advocacy bodies.

ILGA World Database

Global database covering the law relating to sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and sex characteristics. Available in English or Spanish, it outlines the legal framework in all UN member states, other states and sub-national jurisdictions; it also covers ratification of human rights treaties and UN human rights procedures, such as the Universal Periodic Review. Includes the text of laws and court decisions - usually in the original language - and links to UN documents and news reports. Has timelines and customisable maps, charts and graphs, as well as a comparison tool.

LegalTechList

A database giving details of nearly 2,000 selected legal technology companies from around the world. It can be searched, or browsed by the following categories: fields of analytics, compliance, document automation, legal education, legal research, the marketplace, online dispute resolution, practice management and e-discovery; each record is tagged with more specific terms. LegalTechList is provided by CodeX, the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, at Stanford University in the United States.

The Indigo Book

The Indigo Book is an open-access legal citation manual that uses the same citation system as the well-known Bluebook. It is an open access resource, provided by a team of students from New York University led by Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman; it was last updated in 2016. 

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