Skip to Main Content

Foreign and Comparative Law

Databases, websites and other resources relevant for researching foreign and comparative law.

Primary sources

  • CommonLII: Commonwealth Legal Information Institute. Legislation and case law from Commonwealth countries and common law jurisdictions.
  • Foreign Law Guide Information on sources of foreign law, including complete bibliographic citations to legislation, the existence of English translations and selected references to secondary sources for more than 190 jurisdictions.
  • Foreign Law Translations English translations of French, German, Austrian and Israeli legal materials in the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract and tort law.
  • Foreign Legal Gazettes in the Law Library of Congress The largest collection of foreign official gazettes. Current, historical, and subnational jurisdictions.
  • Global-Regulation Contains index of more than 1.3 million laws and regulations (linking to the official full-text source) from many countries and data sources.
  • Guide to Law Online. An annotated guide to sources of information on government and law produced by the Library of Congress. It includes links to useful and reliable sites for legal information from international, multinational, foreign, federal, state, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions. The Guide focuses on sites offering the full texts of laws, regulations, and court decisions.
  • Legal Reports. Research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics prepared by the Law Library of Congress in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law.
  • LegiGlobe. Un projet du Réseau Francophone de Diffusion du Droit.
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw - (use VPN for off-campus access). Lexis Advance Quicklaw is a legal database that offers comprehensive coverage of Canadian, international, and foreign materials (US, UK, France, Australia and New Zealand).
  • Vlex Global Cases, statutes, and other legal materials in 13 languages for 134 countries (especially strong for Spanish-speaking countries).
  • WestlawNext Canada - Westlaw Next Canada is a legal database that provides extensive coverage of US and Canadian, and some international and foreign materials (UK, Australia). Westlaw Canada offers access to Canadian, US, and UK case law, the Canadian Abridgment Case Digests, the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (C.E.D.), Index to Canadian Legal Literature, select Legal Pleadings, and more.
  • WorldLII: World Legal Information Institute Legislation and caselaw from around the world.

Secondary sources

  • Cambridge Core Multidisciplinary e-books published Cambridge UP from 2013 onward. Law collection with particular strength in international law, human rights and transitional justice, transnational and comparative law, jurisprudence, and legal history.
  • Foreign & International Law Resources Database (via HeinOnline) Publications of the American Society of International Law and prominent Yearbooks from around the world, including the Hague Permanent Court of International Justice series.
  • Foreign Law Guide Information on sources of foreign law, including complete bibliographic citations to legislation, the existence of English translations and selected references to secondary sources for more than 190 jurisdictions.
  • Global Legal Monitor. An online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from official national legal publications and reliable press sources.
  • International Comparative Legal Guides Current and practical comparative legal information on a range of practice areas.
  • International encyclopedia of comparative law Detailed description of the legal systems of more than 140 countries, including thoroughly documented comparative analyses of the main issues in civil and commercial law and related areas covering the whole world (via BrillOnline Reference Works)
  • LegiGlobe. Un projet du Réseau Francophone de Diffusion du Droit.
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw - (use VPN for off-campus access). Lexis Advance Quicklaw is a legal database that offers comprehensive coverage of Canadian, international, and foreign materials (US, UK, France, Australia and New Zealand).
  • Oxford Handbooks Authoritative and up-to-date surveys of original research in a particular subject area. Includes many comparative texts.
  • Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law. E-book collection from Oxford UP in the area of public international law.
  • Vlex Global Cases, statutes, and other legal materials in 13 languages for 134 countries (especially strong for Spanish-speaking countries).

Librarian

Profile Photo
Sonia Smith
Contact:
McGill University
Nahum Gelber Law Library
3660 Peel
Montreal, QC H3A 1W9
Canada
514-398-4715 ext. 09177
Subjects: Jewish studies, Law

Librarian

Profile Photo
Ana Rogers
Contact:
McGill University Library
Nahum Gelber Law Library
3660 Peel Street
Montréal Québec H3A 1W9
514-399-9674
Website
Subjects: Law

Resource key

  • McGill users only
  • Open access resource
  • Free resource
  • In-library-use only
  • Catalogue record

McGill LibrariesQuestions? Ask us!
Privacy notice