Texts of Foreign Laws and Constitutions
THREE KEY RESOURCES FOR LOCATING FOREIGN LAWS AND FOREIGN CONSTIUTIONS INCLUDE:
- World Legal Information Institute [Electronic]Caselaw, legislation, treaties, law reform reports, law journals, and other materials from foreign countries.
- World Constitutions Illustrated [Hein Online]Current constitutions for every country in the original language along with at least one English translation. Includes expert commentary, the complete set of the British and Foreign State Papers, and other significant Sources such as Country Studies, the World Fact Book, Annual Human Rights Reports Submitted to Congress by the U.S. Department of State, and much more. Each country is linked directly to relevant primary and secondary sources.
- The Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, 1600-1970 [Electronic]Four centuries of historical legal codes, statutes, regulations, and code-related commentaries from jurisdictions around the world.
For the most part, the resources below include gateways to web sites containing foreign law. Databases for specific countries are included if they are subscribed to by the UW-Madison Law Library or UW - Madison libraries.
For Foreign subject-specific laws and summaries available online and in print, see the Subject Collections section of this guide.
- Constitute [Electronic]Searchable database of almost 200 constitutions worldwide that allows constitutions to be compared by topic, with relevant texts displayed side by side.
- Foreign Law Web Archive [Electronic]From the Library of Congress. An archive of Foreign Legal Gazettes and Judicial Websites from selected jurisdictions.
- Government Gazettes Online [Electronic]From Michigan University Library. Gazettes are the official means of communication from the government to the general public. They often contain legislation and other primary source documentation.
- LLMC Digital [Electronic]Click on "Search Collections" for case law, legislation, regulations and other materials from Canada, UK and other foreign countries. Coverage is especially good for older materials.
- Nations of the World [Electronic]From the law Library of Congress, Global Information Network (GLIN). Full-text laws and regulations in the official language of the country of origin and summaries or abstracts in English.
- Translex [Electronic]A research platform for international law. Contains domestic statutes, international conventions, model laws, restatements and materials relevant for research in transnational law and international business law.
- Eurlex [Electronic]From the European Union. Contains EU treaties, legislation and case law, as well as the decisional procedures between the Commission and the other institutions.
- Nexis UniLaws for several foreign jurisdictions, as well as legal materials from the European Communities/European Union.
- LexisNexisSelect the "International" tab to see selected legislation from several jurisdictions. The Commonwealth nations are covered the most extensively.
- WestlawLaws for several foreign jurisdictions, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and others. Click on “International Materials” to see available jurisdictions.
Commercial databases for specific countries that are subscribed to by the UW-Madison Law Library or UW-Madison Libraries include:
- Manupatra [Electronic]A database of legal materials from India, including the full text of cases from the Supreme Court of India, the state High Courts,and courts during the colonial period. Also includes national and state legislation, bills from the central parliament, committee reports, and more.
- PKULaw (ChinaLawInfo/LawInfoChina) [Electronic]In Chinese and English. Includes nearly comprehensive coverage of laws and regulations from China (1949-present) promulgated by the Chinese governments and local governments. Coverage for cases is selective. Also includes secondary legal information such as white papers, law journal articles, legal news, and more. Single user only.
- National People's Congress Database [Electronic]The National People's Congress is the highest state body and the unicameral legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The database includes reports on the NPC such as: Deputy Lists, Agendas, Conference Updates, Documents and Reports, Resolutions and Statements, Leaders Activities, Selected Proposals, Suggestions of the Deputies, News Reports, Pictures, Press Conferences, Important Commentaries, Video Reports, etc.
- Statutes of the Republic of South Korea [Electronic]Full-text of around 800 statutes from the Republic of Korea in English, along with amendment history and articles. Covers Coverage 1945 to present.
- Provincial Statutes of Canada [HeinOnline]https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/HOL/Index?collection=psc
- Revised Statutes of Canada [HeinOnline]Complete coverage of all six revisions from the official printed volumes of the Revised Statutes of Canada in nearly 48,000 pages.
- UK Parliamentary Papers [Electronic]Papers issued by the United Kingdom House of Commons including Bills and Acts, Command Papers, House of Commons Papers, Hansard (the official report of debates in Parliament), and supplementary material.
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