We get research questions every now and then relating to foreign legislation or case law, and international legal materials are often difficult to find as most of our subscriptions do not cover much outside of Canada. So how do we go beyond the Google search to know what’s out there and what’s legitimate?
One of our favourite sites for International and Comparative law research is called GlobaLex, which is run by the New York University School of Law. From the homepage, click through to “Foreign Law Research”, and a list of each country will appear in alphabetical order.
Clicking on any one of these country links will bring you to the country overview, which includes a summary of the country’s legal system, the organization of its parliament and courts, plus links or references to secondary and primary sources.
This is a great place to start to get the lay of the land of a foreign jurisdiction, allowing you to follow through to other official links and resources from that jurisdiction. It’s a great first stop to doing international legal research!