To determine what laws govern a particular subject in a specific jurisdiction, begin your research by consulting a secondary source, such as a treatise or practice guide. In addition to providing background information, analysis and commentary, secondary sources will help you to identify relevant primary sources.
The Georgetown Law Library's collections includes secondary sources in English for many jurisdictions outside the U.S. Jurisdictions with the greatest depth of coverage include Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. For some non-English speaking jurisdictions, a limited range of secondary sources in the language of the jurisdiction also is available.
To locate jurisdiction-specific legal treatises and books from the Georgetown Law Library's collection, use the Advanced Search and select Law Library Catalog. For greater precision, search by subject for the name of the desired jurisdiction in combination with one or more keywords:
By searching for the name of the jurisdiction in the Subject field, you will limit the items retrieved to materials that focus on that jurisdiction. Enter additional search terms (words or "exact phrases") in the boxes below. Use the default Any Field (anywhere in the record) to run a broader search. Or select the Title field to search more narrowly.
The Foreign Law Guide is another tool that you can use to identify jurisdiction-specific secondary sources. Begin by selecting the desired jurisdiction from the "Countries" menu. After the page refreshes, scroll down to the "Laws by Subject" section. Click on the desired subject to display a list of secondary sources.
To determine if the Georgetown Law Library owns a copy of a secondary source listed in The Foreign Law Guide, search for it by title in the library's online catalog. If they Law Library does not own a copy, you may request it via inter-library loan.
Lexology Panoramic offers practitioner-written summaries of national laws that govern dozens of work areas using a question and answer format. Begin by selecting a jurisdiction to see which work areas are covered for that jurisdiction. Then select the desired work area to generate a report. Note that jurisdictional coverage is selective, not comprehensive, and varies by work area.
Alternatively, you may begin by selecting a work area. Work areas are grouped into broader categories, such as Banking & Finance. Click on the name of a category to display the full list of work areas for that category. Then select the desired work area from the list. After the page refreshes, select the desired jurisdiction(s). Select two or more jurisdictions to generate a comparative report.
Global Legal Monitor
The Law Library of Congress maintains this blog, which tracks significant legal developments in jurisdictions worldwide, including the enactment of notable new legislation and the issuance of landmark judicial decisions.
For optimal searching, click on the + sign to open the Advanced Search form. Alternatively, you can browse for posts using one of the following browsing options:
Posts are authored by the Law Library's foreign jurisdiction specialists and by visiting scholars and library interns who are familiar with the jurisdictions and subject matter. Many posts include links to relevant legislation or judicial opinions.
The blog is a credible source for monitoring new developments in foreign law before scholarly articles have been written about them.
The Georgetown Law Library maintains in-depth legal research guides for a limited number of foreign jurisdictions. If your topic involves one of the jurisdictions listed below, start with the research guide for that jurisdiction.
Each foreign jurisdiction guide includes one or more pages with a selection of secondary sources for the jurisdiction in question.
