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Internationl Law Websites discussed in this guide are concerned with a variety of resources which deal with international law and the law of individual nations: “gateways,” directories, constitutions, guides/tutorials to conducting research. These resources are primarily produced by professional associations/organizations, academic sources (law school faculty departments, libraries), official governmental sites.

The jurisdictional scope of these sites is supra-national legal entities (the United Nations, European Union, etc.), international judicial bodies (world courts/tribunals), and law for individual nations.

This guide was created with Internet accessibility in mind. Wherever possible, freely available resources have been included; some sites contain links to restricted databases, however. Many legal meta-sites and “gateways” also contain links to international/country law resources, therefore; there is an inevitable amount of overlap and duplication.

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
• Maintained by the American Society of International Law (ASIL); co-editors: Marci Hoffman & Jill McC. Watson
• Available online since 1997, the guide is “… designed to be used by students, teachers, practitioners and researchers as a self-guided tour of relevant, quality, up-to-date online resources covering important areas of international law”
• Organized by “chapter,” this guide begins with a detailed introduction of its purpose and scope and includes information on conducting online research in international law, evaluating internet resources, citing web documents, comments on international courts/tribunals
• Discusses the following categories of international law: human rights, commercial arbitration, criminal law, economic law, environmental law, intellectual property, “private” international law, treaties, United Nations
• Each category’s “chapter” has been researched and written by a professional librarian affiliated with a law school or professional association/organization
• Each category includes an introduction, informative commentary on the particular resources associated with the topic under discussion, primary/secondary sources; most content consists of commentary on links to websites (commentary on other online or print resources is included when appropriate)
• “Chapters” range in length from 7 to 23 pages, although most are 11 pages or more
• “Also available in book form”
• Last updated March 2006
• Complements “Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)” (see below)
• Outstanding; this is probably the best general guide to online international law resources currently available, for its comprehensiveness and commentary; it discusses an extremely complex subject and provides an excellent sense of coherence to its organization; highly recommended

Comparative & Foreign Law Guides
• Created by Sabrina I. Pacifica for LLRX.com Resource Center
• Links to over 120 Internet guides for legal research for 57 countries and 5 regions
• Most guides examine the government judicial structure of the country (or region), comment on its unique legal features, provide tips on conducting legal research; guides are very well-written and provide a very useful introduction to a country’s laws/legal system
• All guides are written in English; some of the links are to official governmental sites and are in the native language of the country under consideration
• Some guides are updates of an earlier guide; when this is the case, new material which has been added is highlighted in yellow
• Guides are written by law librarians, legal scholars, practitioners and individuals affiliated with professional legal associations/organizations
• Last updated in December 2005
• Outstanding; does a great job of providing detailed examinations of the legal systems of many countries

Constitution Finder
• Maintained by the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond
• “This database offers constitutions, charters, amendments, and other related documents”
• Links to over 500 constitutions and related documents for 200 countries
• “We seek not only constitutions in effect, and their amendments, but also constitutions which have been superseded as well as drafts not yet acted upon or else abandoned”
• Multilingual documents are available for many (but not all) countries
• Welcomes feedback
• Excellent; very useful for direct links to existing constitutions for many of the world’s countries; also useful for historical research on countries which have had a tumultuous past, in regards to their political/constitutional historical development

Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)
• Sponsored by the American Society of International Law (ASIL), with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• “Designed as an open database of authenticated primary and other materials across the breadth of international law, which until now have been scattered in libraries, archives and specialized web sites”
• Directory of websites for 13 categories of international law (including human rights, criminal law, environmental law, economic law, “dispute settlement,” “use of force”); each category links to “Basic Sources” and sub-categories (over 90 in all)
• Resources include international agreements/laws, conventions, treaties, protocols, international/regional courts/legal systems, historical documents, government agencies, non-governmental associations/organizations; links to hundreds of websites
• Each link to a document/website includes a designation for “More Information,” which includes information on its title (and alternative title if applicable), URL, description (annotation), keywords, language(s), site administrator; if link is a document, additional information is provided for its “entry into force”/ conclusion date (if known), legal citation data, “document creator”
• Searchable
• Includes a very useful “Help” page
• Complements “ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law” (see above)
• Outstanding; this is a very well-organized, comprehensive resource for information on various aspects of international law; a great place for both the novice and the experienced researcher; highly recommended

Foreign and International Law
• Maintained by the staff of the Washburn University of Law Library
• “Our goal is to provide links to primary foreign and international legal resources, research aids, and sites useful in conducting research in these areas of law”
• Browsable directory of law for 185 countries/regions, journals, international courts/judicial entities, professional associations/organizations
• Information for each country/region includes its legal code, constitution (if applicable), government agencies/bodies dealing with judicial matters; some countries may also have links to additional information, including topic-specific law(s), law firm locator, guides for conducting legal research (many of which are based on “Comparative & Foreign Law Guides,” maintained by the LLRX.com Resource Center – please see above)
• Also links to over 90 topic-specific categories for a broad range of issues (economic law, technology law, commercial/trade law, environmental law, human rights, et al)
• Minimal annotations accompany many links; cross-referencing for topics is excellent, however
• Searchable
• Last updated May 2005
• Excellent; while it does not offer very much in the way of commentary, its real value is the comprehensiveness of its links and cross-referencing features

Foreign and International Law
• Maintained by the J.W. Long Law Library, Willamette College of Law
• Guide to print, database and Internet resources in the J.W. Long Library
• Links to websites for the following categories: international organizations, treaties/international agreements, human rights, international business transactions, constitutions, law journals (domestic and international), discussion lists
• Databases and are restricted to the Willamette academic community; they may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
• Print resources may be available in academic law libraries or large public libraries
• Minimal annotations accompany citations and links
• Last updated December 2005
• Excellent; does an admirable job of covering “the basics”

Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases
• Edited and maintained by Mirela Roznovschi, New York University School of Law Library
• Directory of over 300 links to topical areas of international law; includes commercial law, constitutions, copyright/patents/trademarks, country law by jurisdiction, criminal law, dictionaries, environmental law, financial law, human rights, trade law, treaties, United Nations (especially useful)
• Excellent annotations accompany most links
• Also includes advice/information on citing electronic information, evaluating country/international legal databases; also links to additional NYU Law School Library research guides
• Almost all links are to resources which are free of charge; there are a limited number to databases which are restricted to the NYU community
• Outstanding; this is one of the most comprehensive, clearly-written, straightforward guides to country/international law resources currently available; highly recommended

Guide to Law Online: Nations of the World
• Maintained by the Law Library of Congress (LLC)
• Links to official legal/governmental information for 235 nations/colonial dependencies
• Information includes the following: constitution, executive/judicial/legislative links; may also include “Legal Guides and Miscellaneous,” “General Resources”
• Links for individual countries/colonial dependencies may vary in comprehensiveness
• Links to other Law Library of Congress’s resources for international law
• Last updated October 2005
• Excellent resource for links to official judicial sites for many of the world’s nations

International Judicial Assistance, Notarial Services and Authentication of Documents
• Maintained by the U.S. Department of State (DOS)
• This page provides information for U.S. citizens “… traveling or living abroad [who] may require judicial assistance”
• Currently links to “country-specific information” for 43 countries
• Also links to topical information for “criminal matters,” “enforcement of judgements,” “family law and child protection issues,” advice on retaining legal counsel in other countries, process serving issues, treaties, additional legal issues
• Links to additional DOS pages
• “Information in this site relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only and may not be totally accurate in a particular case”
• Excellent; one of the best official resources for examining legal status questions for Americans traveling or living abroad

International Law – A Checklist
• Maintained by the J. Paul Leonard Library, San Francisco State University
• This guide examines the print, database and Internet resources for international law which are available in the Leonard Library
• Topics discussed include dictionaries/handbooks/compendia, treaties/”other international agreements” (indexes and texts), cases/digests, United Nations resources, international law yearbooks
• Provides guidance on locating books and journal/periodical articles
• Print resources may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
• Databases are restricted to the San Francisco State University academic community; these may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
• Links to “other useful library guides,” websites for “gateways” to international law (law schools, professional associations/organizations)
• Last updated March 2006
• Outstanding; one of the best academic library pages for beginning research on international law

International Law Guides
• Edited by Sabrina I. Pacifica for LLRX.com Resource Center
• Directory of guides produced for LLRX .com on a variety of international law topics
• Guides for the following topics: arbitration, commercial/trade law, criminal law, cultural property, family law, foreign/international legal databases, human rights, intellectual property, “private” law, refugee law, treaties (U.S.)
• Some guides are updates of an earlier guide; when this is the case, new material in the update is often highlighted in yellow
• Guides are written by law librarians, legal scholars, practitioners and individuals affiliated with professional legal associations/organizations
• All guides are very well-written; useful for both the experienced researcher as well as the novice
• Links to additional guides on international law (primarily from law schools, academic sources)
• Last updated October 2005
• Outstanding; this excellent guide connects the researcher to some of the best specialized international law resources currently available online

International Legal Research Tutorial
• “A collaborative project between Duke University School of Law and University of California, Berkeley, School of Law;” created by Marci Hoffman (Berkeley) and Katherine Topulos (Duke)
• “Designed to teach students research strategies and methodology for researching both print and electronic sources of international legal materials”
• Provides basic analysis of international law, including background information, journal indexes, abbreviations/acronyms/definitions, international organizations, treaties/agreements, “customary” international law
• Excellent; not extensive, but a solid, basic introduction to international legal research; a great place to begin research

Introduction to International and Foreign Legal Research
• Maintained by Terri Gallego O’Rourke for the Boston University School of Law’s Pappas Library; created by Stephanie Burke
• “Research Tutorial” for international law resources and legal resources for individual countries around the world; primary emphasis, however, is on international law
• Guide to print, database and Internet Resources of the Pappas Law Library
• Direct links to treaties, international/regional tribunals, other international judicial bodies, United Nations legal resources; excellent citations accompany these links (which are also linked to additional sites offering guidance on how to best utilize them for research)
• Also contains links to IGOs (intergovernmental organizations) and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) which are concerned or involved with international legal issues
• Excellent cross-referencing
• Databases are restricted to the Boston University academic community; they may be found in law libraries, academic libraries or large public libraries
• Print resources may be found in law libraries, academic libraries or large public libraries
• Searchable
• Last updated June 2005
• Outstanding; does an excellent job of making what can be a potentially confusing legal area more comprehensible to the layperson

Legal Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet
• Maintained by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, University of Chicago Law School, D’Angelo Law Library
• Meta-site with links to hundreds of sites, including “gateways,” government agencies (U.S.), specific categories of international law (economics, global trade negotiations, commercial arbitration, human rights, international law and women), journal/periodical indexes, directories, international organizations, publishers, discussion groups, citations to print resources, additional related information
• Sections on international organizations, human rights and women in international law are especially noteworthy
• Also links to over 120 general and topic-specific guides to international law
• Brief annotations accompany many links/citations
• Browsable only; not searchable
• “Table of Contents” is the best navigation method
• Last revised April2002
• Excellent; while this site has not be updated recently (includes some “dead” links), the quality of information (especially for the areas noted above), make this a worthwhile resource for researching international law

Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG): International Law
• SOSIG is “… a freely available Internet service which aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high-quality Internet information for students, academics, researchers, and practitioners in the social sciences, business and law”
• “International Law” links are characterized by the following resource types: “Editor’s Choice,” bibliographic databases, bibliographies, books/book equivalents, companies, data, documents (law reports, legislation, treaties), educational material, government publications, governmental bodies, journals (contents/abstracts), journals (full text), mailing lists/discussion groups, news, organizations/societies, papers/reports/articles (collections), papers/reports/articles (individual), reference materials, research projects/centers, resource guides
• “Record Details” accompany each link and contain a brief but incisive annotation, e-mail address (when available), language designation, and URL
• Links to SOSIG sub-pages for specific international law topics: arbitration, commerce, criminal law, human rights, law of the sea, law of war, space law, treaties, war crimes
• Outstanding; this is one of the best international law resource guides currently available, due to its subject breadth, excellent organization, cross-referencing and quality of site annotations

United Nations: International Law Documentation
• Compiled by the United Nation’s Dag Hammarskjold Library, Department of Public Information
• Guide to the international law resources of the United Nations
• Discusses the functions of the UN’s courts/tribunals and its “principal legal bodies”; links to appropriate documents, resolutions
• Also links to information on treaties
• Last updated February 2005
• Best brief official source for information on the UN’s international law resources

World Legal Information Institute (WLII)
• “A free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by … Legal Information Institutes and other organizations”
• “Over 270 databases from 48 jurisdictions in 20 countries are included;” features “… databases of case law, legislation, treaties, law reform reports, law journals, and other materials”
• Browsable by region/continent or by country (over 230)
• Regional/continental sites link to intra-regional organizations, treaties, human rights sites, and other international and intra-regional networks
• Country legal links include government, case-law, national court system, constitution, legislature/parliament, legislation, inter-government organizations; for some countries, there are additional links to national law for topical areas (banking, citizenship, foreign investment, intellectual property, military law, privacy, taxation, telecommunications)
• Outstanding; excellent resource for free, direct links to regional/continental law and law by nation; topical area law for each nation is especially useful

Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh 5/06; links last checked 8/06

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