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 laws generally, see our Foreign and Comparative Law Research Guide.
- Foreign Law Guide
Provides citations and sources (including those with English translations when possible) for most foreign jurisdictions. Includes per-jurisdiction research guides. See the subject section of a country’s guide for some of its major health laws or view the
“Health” subject page for results from many countries.
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World Constitutions Illustrated (HeinOnline)
The right to health is mentioned in many national constitutions. This database has current and historical constitutions from around the world.
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Constitute
Free website offering many constitutions from around the world. Includes topical pages (including one for the
Right to health care) that allow viewing constitutions in their collection that discuss that topic—see, for example,
this page for provisions on the right to health care.
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NATLEX
Created by the International Labour Organization, this labor laws database includes materials on health, safety, conditions, and maternity protections. Laws are often translated.
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FULL: Global Food Laws
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), as well as some international materials. 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.
