Introduction
The electronic resources described below are good starting points for researching laws and regulations from multiple jurisdictions on a wide variety of subjects. Universal Resources cover all, or almost all, national jurisdictions worldwide -- or, in the case of Global Regulation, all national jurisdictions which provide free electronic access to their official gazettes. Regional Resources provide online access to laws governing selected subjects for countries within a geographic region.
Universal Resources
The following resources cover national jurisdictions throughout the world. Use The Foreign Law Guide, GlobaLex, the Library of Congress's Guide to Law Online, and the World Legal Information Institute to obtain background information about a jurisdiction's legal system and to identify its primary sources of law. These resources also provide citations and/or direct links to a selection of each jurisdiction's most significant laws. Use Global Regulation to search by keyword in English for laws in 95 jurisdictions which provide free online access to their official gazettes and/or national legislative databases.
- The Foreign Law Guide
Content within this subscription database is organized by country and by subject. From the homepage, scroll down to the Countries menu to select the desired jurisdiction. When the page refreshes, you will see the following menu displayed:
- Government & Legal System: Use the links in this section to learn about the jurisdiction's government, legal system, and the formatting of legal citations. Consult the Research Guidance section for tips on how to conduct legal research.
- Primary Sources: This section provides information about the jurisdiction's official gazette, codes (for civil law jurisdictions), statutory compilations, and session laws. In addition to the names of print publications, you will find links to online versions of these resources, if available.
- Laws by Subject: Scroll through the alphabetical list for a selection of the jurisdiction's most important laws arranged by subject. In some cases, you may find a direct link to the full text of a law in its original language or in English translation. In other cases, only a citation to a print publication is provided.
- Global Regulation
This user-friendly subscription database allows you to search by keyword in English across the official gazettes and/or legislative databases of 103 jurisdictions worldwide. For non-English speaking jurisdictions, machine-generated English translations are provided, as are links to laws and regulations in their original language.
- GlobaLex
This free resource includes legal research guides for nearly every jurisdiction in the world. Each guide describes the jurisdiction's primary legal sources, including the names of print publications and links to electronic resources, if available. Many guides also include links to legislative, judicial, and government agency websites, which often provide free access to certain types of legal information.
- Guide to Law Online - Nations of the World
The Law Library of Congress maintains this free directory, which provides both narrative background information about each jurisdiction's legal system, as well as quick links to legislative websites and statutory databases that are free to access online. After choosing the desired jurisdiction, select "Legislative" from the menu on the left. Coverage extends to jurisdictions beginning with the letters A-N, plus Ukraine and Russia. Additional jurisdictions will be added.
- World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII)
This free resource aggregates content from national and regional organizations which provide open access to legal information from their respective jurisdictions. Although the interface is text-heavy and some links may be broken, it can still be a reliable source of information. Bear in mind that content varies considerably by jurisdiction and is almost always selective, not comprehensive.
- Browse by Country -- Click on the name of the desired jurisdiction to access a menu of links to government websites that provide free access to legal information, as well as a menu of links to laws by subject. In some cases, you may find a direct link to a law in its original language or in English translation.
- Browse by Database -- WorldLII provides free access to searchable databases of legislation and case law for selected jurisdictions. Databases are grouped by region and arranged alphabetically by jurisdiction. Bear in mind that the search capabilities of these free databases are less robust than those of their commercial counterparts.
Regional Resources
The following resources provide free online access to national laws governing selected subjects within a geographic region.
- LegislationLine.org (Europe)
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) maintains this collection of national laws on human rights and related subjects. Search by keyword or user the filters on the right to browse by country and by topic. Laws are provided in their original language or in English translation (sometimes both).
- Jurisdictional Coverage: All OSCE member states, which include all countries that are located wholly or partly within the European continent, including Russia and Turkey, plus the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Mongolia, the U.S. and Canada.
- Additional Topical Coverage: The OSCE also maintains separate collections of national Criminal Codes and Constitutional Texts, many of which are available in both their original language and in English translation.
- Foreign Trade Information System (SICE) (Western Hemisphere)
The Organization of American States (OAS) maintains this collection of national laws pertaining to international trade and related subjects, such as competition policy, electronic commerce, government procurement, labor and employment law, and intellectual property. Coverage extends to all countries in the Western Hemisphere, except Cuba. Most laws are provided in their original language, but a handful of English translations also are included.
- States and Institutions of Governance in Latin America (SIGLA) (Beta version in development)
When fully operational, this free database hosted by Georgetown University will enable users to access selected legal codes, as well as current and historical constitutional texts and amendments, election data, and information about the executive and legislative branches of government for 20 jurisdictions in Latin America. Use the menus on the Browse by Country page to select the desired jurisdiction and the desired legal code(s) or constitutional texts. Or use the Compare tool to compare legal codes and constitutions from multiple jurisdictions. Note: Jurisdictional coverage is currently limited to Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Additional jurisdictions will be added over time.
