Rule of Law Research: Foreign Law

A tool designed to help compare constitutions from around the world side-by-side. You can view constitutions in whole, or search for relevant sections from different constitutions and compare the results.

Website sponsored by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex seeking to "[share] the best in development policy, practice, and research.” Contains over 26,000 documents all available for free download, including topical resource guides and country profiles.

The Environmental Law Reporter is the most-often cited environmental law journal. Its online database contains over 40 years of analysis by leading practitioners and academics in the field. Available online through HeinOnline.

Established by the European Convention of Human Rights and hears applications from individuals alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights provisions concerning civil and political rights in the Convention.

FILRD includes the publications of the American Society of International Law along with prominent Yearbooks from around the world, including the Hague Permanent Court of International Justice series. It also includes U.S. Law Digests, International Tribunals/Judicial Decisions, and more.

Over 40 research guides on a variety of foreign and international law subjects.

A wide variety of research guides on the laws of individual countries, as well as guides on international and comparative law. Available through the NYU School of Law.

Provides links and descriptions of official gazettes for countries worldwide. Also includes a bibliography.

Provides links to primary and secondary foreign resources, including constitutions, executive, judicial, and legislative materials, legal guides, and general sources; organized by country. Available through the Law Library of Congress.

Research group formed by professors from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa, which focuses on the development of a multilingual information data bank containing general information relating to the different legal systems in the world.

Contemporary and historical constitutions for the countries of the world in original language and English versions, as well as books, periodicals, and related resources. Available through HeinOnline.

Contains a collection of freely available full-text databases of primary sources for several countries, as well as a catalog of links to lists of resources. The site can be browsed by country, region, or subject.

Blog managed by the Yale Comparative Administrative Law Initiative that posts recent scholarship in the field.

Highest court of the European Union. Tasked with interpreting EU law and ensuring its equal application across all EU member states.

Very helpful Guide from the University of Minnesota listing treaties frequently cited in law review articles, along with available sources of hard copy and links to web sources.

Alphabetical guide to 56 nations with online gazettes.

Links to national treaty collections; advice on finding national gazettes and other sources.

Over 20 extensive research guides written by experts in their fields.

This treaty sets out the rights a State must not violate. Created at the same time as the ICESCR.

This treaty sets out rights that States should provide. Created at the same time as the ICCPR.

Published by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law available online through Hein Online, OhioLINK EJC, Lexis, and Academic Search Complete

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

This treaty is often consulted as a guide to interpreting other treaties.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors implementation of the ICESCR. It issues general comments on the interpretation of ICESCR and jurisprudence on the ICESCR

The Human Rights Committee monitors States' implementation and compliance with the ICCPR and its optional protocols. It issues general comments of interpretation of the ICCPR and jurisprudence on the ICCPR.

Provides access to over 55,000 treaties of the 20th century, from sources ranging from the United Nations Treaty Series to various national indexes, gazettes, and official files.

Multilateral and bilateral treaties arranged by subject, region and country

Search within National Treaty databases. Caveat: some are not as current as the source database.