INTERNATIONAL & FOREIGN LEGAL RESEARCH GUIDE

Introduction to the Princeton University Library Law Collection

The law collection at Princeton University Library is a rich, historical collection that has developed over the decades without supporting the research and teaching of a law school. The strengths of the collection are U.S. constitutional law and international and comparative law. Princeton has an extensive collection of primary sources of U.S. (federal) law and New Jersey state law. With a combination of the print and electronic sources described in this guide, legal researchers at Princeton will find many of their research needs met. For detailed legal research, users may need to consult nearby law libraries at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University Law Libraries (both the Camden and Newark Rutgers Law Libraries are open to the public), the New Jersey State Library in Trenton, Columbia University and New York University.

INTERNATIONAL AND FOREIGN LAW
SELECTED SOURCES

International and foreign law can be some of the most difficult and complicated topics in legal research. The following discussion is necessarily a brief overview of the legal resources available at Princeton University Library for international and foreign legal research.

INTERNATIONAL LAW DICTIONARIES AND REFERENCE WORKS

Parry and Grant Encyclopedic Dictionary of International Law
KZ1161 .P37 2004 (SSRC)

Dictionary of International and Comparative Law / James R. Fox
3rd edition
KZ1161 .F69 2003 (Stokes Library)
2nd edition
KZ1161 .F69 1997 (SSRC)

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/
Sponsored by the University of Cardiff in Wales, this free online dictionary defines abbreviations used in English language legal publications from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth.

Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Firestone Library, Social Science Reference Center, Ready Reference
KF246 .B46 2001
Useful for deciphering legal acronyms and abbreviations.

Legal Systems of the World : A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia / edited by Herbert M. Kritzer
K48 .L44 2002 (SSRC)
This four volume set includes articles on the laws and legal systems of the countries of the world as well as international legal topics such as human rights and commercial law. Very useful in providing context before beginning legal research in a particular country.

TREATIES

The research of treaties is a major topic in international legal research. The treaty collection at Princeton is comprehensive and rivals that of many major law libraries in the United States. Because of the breadth and complexity of this topic, there is a separate guide on Treaty Research and the treaty collections at Princeton.

Guide to Treaty Research, Princeton University Library

SCHOLARLY WRITING

Scholarly articles on international law are in fact sources of international law. Both the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Restatement 3rd, Foreign Relations Law of the United States respectively mention "the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists" and "the writing of scholars" as sources of international law. ICJ Statute, Art. 38(1); Rest. 3rd, Foreign Relations Law, Sections 102 - 103. Therefore, international legal researchers should include a search of the journal literature as a more prominent step in their research than in U.S. legal research.

Journal Indexes

Several journal indexes are mentioned above. International law researchers will find the following two databases most useful:

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals – selected foreign law periodicals and US law reviews focused on international law since 1985.
Firestone Library, Social Science Reference Center
K33 .I528
Holdings: 1960 – 2001
Electronic version begins in 1985 - available from the Article Indexes and Research Databases list

Law Journals Index (on Westlaw commercial version; Database LJI) - UK and European journals focused on European Union law and international law since 1986

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESEARCH GUIDES

Foreign Law Guide (electronic resource)
Available from the Article Indexes and Research Databases list
Electronic bibliography of sources of foreign law organized by country. Each entry contains a brief description of the country’s legal system with citations to primary sources of law both in print and electronic versions when available. At the end of each entry is a list of subject headings with citations to the relevant laws or statutes.

Germain's Transnational Law Research : A Guide for Attorneys / Claire M. Germain.
K85 .G47 1991 (SSRC)
Targeted at attorneys, this loose-leaf guide is organized both by geographic area and legal topic. Claire Germain is the Director of the Law Library at Cornell Law School. Last updated January 2004.

Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digests
Available on LexisNexis (commercial version)
Martindale-Hubbell has long been known for its comprehensive directories of U.S. attorneys. In addition, Martindale-Hubbell publishes International Law Digests. Written by prominent law firms in each nation, these digests summarize a nation's laws on selected topics and provide citations to the relevant laws. Each summary is organized in the same manner with the same subject categories making comparative research easier. Because the audience for the digests are attorneys, the topics covered tend to deal with commercial, corporate, tax and real estate law.

European Union Documents Research Guide
http://www.princeton.edu/~ssrc/eurefgdpu.html
Includes sources on EU law and a brief explanation of the EU legal system.

United Nations Collection, Princeton University Library
http://www.princeton.edu/~sbwhite/un/generalun.html
Princeton University Library is a UN depository library and has a rich collection of UN materials.

LLRX
http://www.llrx.com
This web site for legal researchers includes up-to-date, useful guides on foreign law research guides.

Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)
http://www.eisil.org
Sponsored by the American Society of International Law, this database is a work in progress and promises to be a key Web source of international law, primarily treaties, web sites, and research guides. The content of this database is vetted carefully and should be a first step in any research on international law.

Specialized International Law Research Guides

Law and the Cultural Heritage / by Lyndel V. Prott and P.J. O'Keefe.
K3791 .P79 Firestone (F)
This guide, while a bit dated, includes citations to the law dealing with cultural property and antiquities in many nations around the world.

The Common Law Abroad : Constitutional and Legal Legacy of the British Empire / by Jerry Dupont.
KD671.A1 D87 2001
This bibliographic guide to sources of law of the British Commonwealth is especially useful for legal research of the British colonies during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Guy Holborn, Butterworth’s Legal Research Guide
KD392.H65 2001 (SSRC)
Guide to British legal research.

Dane & Thomas, How to Use a Law Library
KD392 .D36 2001 (SSRC)
Guide to British legal research.

Banks & Foti, Banks on Using a Law Library
KE250 .B36 1994 (SSRC)
Guide to Canadian legal research.

SOURCES OF FOREIGN LAW

Bundesgesetzblatt (Germany)
Teil I - analogous to United States Statutes at Large
Oversize KK10 .G475aq Firestone (F)
Teil II - analogous to United States Treaty Series
Oversize KK10 .G475bq Firestone (F)

Journal Officiel de la République Française. Édition des lois et décrets (France)
Oversize 0850.65q Firestone (F)
Holdings: 1870 - 1993
Analogous to a combination of United States Statutes at Large, Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register

Public General Acts and Measures (United Kingdom)
KD124 .G74 Firestone (F)
1887 – current
Equivalent to United States Statutes at Large
Older statutes are organized and cited by regnal year. Black's Law Dictionary has a table of British regnal years in an appendix. This abbreviated table of regnal years may be useful:
http://www.library.jhu.edu/gpml/findit/legalresources/britishlaw.html#tabreg

International Legal Materials
Firestone Library, Social Science Reference Center
KZ64 .I58
Also available on Hein Online and LexisNexis Academic
This journal contains selected laws, cases and treaties from foreign nations, international organizations, and the United States. Only the most important documents are published in this collection. Previously published as the American Journal of International Law, Supplement or Special Supplement.

LexisNexis Academic / Legal Research
Contains databases on:
European Union law (CELEX)
Canadian statutes
Foreign and Commonwealth Nations Database
Australian Case Law
Canadian Case Law and Digests
GATT Panel and World Trade Decisions
Hong Kong Cases
International Legal Materials (I.L.M.)
Irish Cases
Mexican Case Law
UK Cases (from 1865 - current)

Constitutions of the Countries of the World
K3157.A2 B528 1971 (SSRC)
Also available in an electronic version from the Article Indexes and Research Databases list.
A multi-volume collection of the constitutions of nearly all countries in the world with authoritative (although not official) English translations. Published by Oceana, it is one of the most comprehensive collections of its type. The online version includes some historical content.

WorldTradeLaw.net
Available from the Article Indexes and Research Databases list.
This database of GATT and WTO decisions is targeted at the international trade law researcher. Particularly useful are the summaries of the WTO panel decisions.
WTO decisions are also available at the WTO web site: http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/docs_e.htm

Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
http://www.loc.gov/law/glin/
Contains summaries of selected laws from some foreign nations. Currently being redesigned, GLIN has the potential to be very useful. Princeton does not currently subscribe to this database. In its current state, GLIN is useful in verifying the title and publication date of official legal publications.

Cornell Legal Information Institute, Foreign Laws
http://www.law.cornell.edu/world/
An extensive library of web links organized by country.

NATLEX, International Labor Organization
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home?p_lang=en
Database of national laws of countries around the world on labor and employment. Includes relevant constitutional provisions, social security laws, employment specific laws, as well as collective bargaining and child labor laws. Principally citations and abstracts. Some full-text.

FAOLEX, Food and Agricultural Organization
http://faolex.fao.org/faolex/index.htm
Database of national laws on food, agriculture, renewal resources and land tenure. Search by broad area of law and then by country. FAO also publishes web databases on water law and the law of fisheries and fishing rights.

UNESCO Collection of National Copyright Laws
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php@URL_ID=14076&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
A work in progress, this database collects PDF’s of national copyright laws in the native language.

Global Banking Law Database, World Bank
http://www.gbld.org/
This database contains unofficial English translations of banking laws in various foreign nations. Searchable by jurisdiction or keyword. The database also allows comparisions of banking laws among nations.

ECOLEX, joint venture of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Conservation Union, and the United Nations Environment Program
http://www.ecolex.org
This database of over 100,000 legal references on environmental law includes treaties, national laws, judicial decisions, non-binding standards, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA).

Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG)
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/law/
This free Web resource from the UK contains links with detailed abstracts on UK, foreign and international law. Like EISIL described above, the editors of SOSIG vet carefully the entries in the database.

World Legal Information Institute
http://www.worldlii.org/
This web database is a joint venture of various legal institutes around the world. The Cornell Legal Information Institute is the U.S. partner. The database provides links to court web sites, topical web sites, case law and statutory databases. Searchable by geographic area and topic.