It’s been a minute since we covered the wide range of international materials we have here in the library, so let’s do a round-up!
International materials are often fairly expensive to subscribe to. A firm that doesn’t do a lot of work requiring materials from outside Canada will likely not subscribe to any international services. Fortunately, the CCLA has your back! If you need non-Canadian case law, we’re definitely here to help and provide a very cost-effective solution to your research needs.
Note the following:
- Most of these resources only contain case law and legislation. We don’t have many secondary sources available. International treatises are very expensive to acquire, so if you need something from a text, get in touch and we’ll find another library who does have a copy of the item and can make a scan or lend.
- Any of the paid resources below are for use in-library only. Unfortunately, legal publishers aren’t keen to provide off-site access to their databases. The exception to this is …
- For HeinOnline: This resource has some very old English case law in it, a fantastic collection of Canadian legislation, and a lot of legal journals. The Law Society is able to provide remote access to this database for all licensees in Ontario. To get your own password, please contact the Law Society’s library.
United Kingdom
By far, the UK is the most sought-after foreign jurisdiction. We have UK case law available in several services, as well as some old print materials still on the shelf.
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw
- JustisOne
- ICLR.3
- Hein Online
- BAILII – Use from Home or Office!
Australia & New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand have been coming up more and more frequently. Fortunately, we have you covered!
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw
- JustisOne
- AustLII – Use from Home or Office!
United States of America
American case law and legislation can be a bit tricky to figure out, but we’re covered for that, too.
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw
- LII – Use from Home or Office!
- Google Scholar – Use from Home or Office!
Other Free Resources
- Free Access to the Law member websites – Here is a list of sites that are basically like CanLII, but from other countries. Be warned: CanLII is easily the best of the bunch, so temper your expectations for other countries.
- GlobaLex – Great guides to the law from a huge number of countries.
Finally, if none of these services have what you need, don’t fear! We work with other libraries who have different subscriptions, and we’re always happy to ask around if you need something.