Global Health Law Research Guide

Locating foreign laws requires diligence and perseverance since you will need to look in multiple places. The process of researching foreign law will vary according to the jurisdiction in question; what follows below are a handful of starting points of general applicability. For more information on locating foreign case law, see our Foreign and Comparative Law Research Guide.

• Foreign Law Guide
  Provides citations and sources (including English translations when possible) for many jurisdictions. Arranged by country. See the subject section for each country’s guide for major laws or view the “Health” subject category for results from many countries.
• GlobaLex
  Includes guides to researching the law of many foreign jurisdictions, as well as some international law topics (including a guide on researching global health law).
• WorldLII
  This free, global collaboration provides links to laws (and cases) from over 120 countries. While there are searchable databases, we recommend clicking the “All Countries” link on the left, selecting a particular country, and then seeing what is available using the “Legislation,” “Courts & Case-Law,” and “Parliament” links for that jurisdiction. Coverage and depth varies significantly among jurisdictions. 
• World Constitutions Illustrated (HeinOnline)
  The right to health is often mentioned in national constitutions. This database has current and historical constitutions from around the world.
• Constitute
  This free website is great for comparing constitutional provisions over multiple jurisdictions. Use the Topics on the left (rights and duties ~ social rights ~ right to health care). Allows comparison of the constitutions of multiple jurisdictions side-by-side and downloading of selected countries and sections into a spreadsheet.
• NATLEX
  Created by the International Labour Organization, this labor laws database includes materials on health, safety, conditions, and maternity protections. Laws are often translated.

• FULL
  This free discovery tool enables users to locate food laws to promote healthy diets and prevent diet-related communicable diseases from six jurisdictions (Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, and South Africa). Some judicial and administrative decisions also are included. Use the menus on the left to select the desired country, policy category, and type of law. Content from additional jurisdictions will be added. Sponsored by Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law and two other NGOs.