LibGuides: Foreign Law Research: Starting Points

Guides to Foreign Legal Systems

Books included here provide an extensive examination of a country's legal system and sources of law. Sources covering multiple jurisdictions (or legal families/traditions) appear first in the list below.

After multijurisdictional titles, references are listed in alphabetical order by the name of the country. These are selective book titles which are available at Richardson School of Law.

You should also search PRIMO, WorldCat, Amazon or individual country web sites for guides about those country's legal systems.

Suggested SUBJECT search in PRIMO or WorldCat:

LAW [name of jurisdiction] combined with KEYWORD: legal system or research

Example: Japan and research

University of Ottowa, Juriglobe World Legal Systems
Provides overviews (in graphic form) of the world's legal systems and identifies official legal languages. Includes a "General Bibliography" about the world's legal systems.
The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law (Mauro Bussani & Ugo Mattei, eds., 2012)
Includes chapters about the legal traditions of East Asia, the sub-Saharan, Latin American and Caribbean, Jewish and Muslim societies, mixed legal systems as well as democratic Western legal systems.
Vernon Palmer, Mixed Jurisdictions Worldwide: The Third Legal Family (2012)
Includes chapters on The Republic of South Africa, Scotland, Louisiana, Quebec, Puerto Rico, The Philippines, Botswana, Malta, and Israel.
H. Patrick Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World: Sustainable Diversity in Law (2010)
Laws of different countries are placed in context of major legal traditions (indigenous, talmudic law, civil, islamic, common, hindu and confucian law. The legal traditions are examined in terms of their government structure, substantive law, philosophical origins and attitude toward societal changes.
Gokulesh Sharma, An Introduction to the Legal Systems of the World (2008)
Examines origins and structure of African, Chinese, English, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and Roman law.
Enid Campbell, The Australian Judiciary (2013)
Survey the Australian judiciary and describes the work, techniques, problems and the future of the different tiers of courts and judges.
Yuanshi Bu, Chinese Business Law (2010)
Covers China's accession to WTO, corporations and partnerships, foreign investment law, securities, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, secured transactions, bankruptcy, labor relations and labor disputes, intellectual property in transactions, outbound investment from China, and offshore investment vehicles.
Albert Hongyi Chen, An introduction to the legal system of the People's Republic of China (2011)
Reviews this system's history, constitutional structure, sources of law, major legal institutions (the courts, the legal profession and the Ministry of Justice), and principles of procedural and substantive law.
Daniel C.K. Chow, The Legal System of the People's Republic of China in a Nutshell (2009)
Reviews the history of modern and imperial China in the familiar West Nutshell series. Covers legislation, substantive and procedural law, and court structure.
Gary Slapper & David Kelly, The English Legal System (2013)
Explains how English law is made and applied and describes the legal rules of England and Wales and their collective influence as a sociocultural institution.
Terence Ingman, The English Legal Process (2010)
Explains the organization and procedures of courts and tribunals, the trial process and jury system, private and public law, and discusses judicial interpretation.
Richard Ward & Amanda Ahktar, Walker & Walker's English Legal System (2011)
Covers the different branches of government with a focus on judicial and legislative developments. The book is supported by an Online Resource Centre offering a range of additional resources.
Howard D. Fisher, The German Legal System and Legal Language: A General Survey Together with Notes and German Vocabulary (2009)
Adineh Abghari, Introduction to the Iranian Legal System and the Protection of Human Rights in Iran (2008)
This book is primarily guide and reference book for foreign jurists and human rights defenders; however, it covers the political structure of Iran, the history of the judiciary in Iran, the sources and nature of Iranian law, and the internal safeguards for fundamental freedoms and rights.
Morag McDowell, The New Zealand legal system : structures, processes and legal theory (1998)
William Elliott Butler, Russian Law (2003)
Examines Russian law in the context of other legal systems and evaluates the country's legal institutions.
Peter Maggs, William Burnham and Gennady Danilenko, Law and Legal System of the Russian Federation (2012)
Although designed primarily as a casebook, this text provides a good review of the Russian legal system, sources of law, the judiciary, legislative process and areas of substantive law such as criminal, constitutional, civil and criminal procedure and administrative law.
Introduction to the Law of South Africa (C.G. van der Merwe & Jacques E. du Plesis eds., 2004)
Provides an overview of the main branches of South African public, private and commercial law and examines the unique blend of civil and common law in this jurisdiction.
Chris Gevers, Brian Leslie, Dumile Baqwa and Shelley Walker, Introduction to Law and Legal Skills in South Africa
The core focus of this text is its innovative educational and learning-developed approach, which helps teach students how to think as lawyers. Knowledge of theory and concept is reinforced through applied, practical exercises which support comprehension. Encourages the development of language skills, critical and independent thinking, and legal research skills.

Guides to Foreign Law Research

These guides provide recommendations and context for you to conduct research in a non-US jurisdiction. See also the section on databases for direct access to a country’s laws.

Globalex, Lucie Olejnikova & Mirela Roznovschi, eds.
A popular collection of legal research guides for foreign jurisdictions written and updated by lawyers and law librarians with expertise in their jurisdictions. http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/ > foreign law
Foreign Law Guide, Marci Hoffman, ed.
Online subscription source that provides information about laws in approx. 190 foreign jurisdictions. Each entry describes the foreign legal system and key sources of laws and regulations. Includes cites to English-language translations of primary legal materials and cites to some secondary sources. (Subscription resource – UH students and faculty can use their network log on credentials for remote access.)
Law Library of Congress, Guide to Law Online: Nations
Provides directory information and links to documentation on the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government (where applicable) and related background information. Organized alphabetically by country.
Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Information Catalog
Describes subject-oriented sources that reprint laws and regulations and information about regional organizations and of foreign countries not included in the Library of Congress catalog. Searchable by country or keyword.
Bloomberg Law
Under column Resources, click: Books & Treatises > All Getting the Deal Through Books & Treatises - Online subscription source that provides current subject overviews of nearly 30 countries' laws. These subject overviews focus on business, dispute resolution (including civil court procedures) intellectual property, labor, and trade. (Countries covered vary by topic.)
Silke Sahl & updated by Alison Sherwin,A Selective List of Guides to Foreign Legal Research
Excellent collection of global, regional, and national research guides.
William B. Mccloy and Rob Britt, Gallagher Law Library, East Asian Law Department, Chinese Legal Research, Japanese Legal Research, Korean Legal Research, Taiwan Legal Research
Includes research guides and strategies for research in China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Marci Hoffman & Mary Rumsey, International and Foreign Legal Research: A Coursebook (2012)
This e-course book recommends resources for research in public and private international law subject areas, recommends research strategies and reviews the sources of law for a variety of legal systems and for international law projects.
J. Paul Lomio, Henrik Spang-Hanssen & George D. Wilson, Legal Research Methods in a Modern World: A Coursebook (2011)
This ebrary book is primarily targeted toward EU and European research but also includes material and research methods for projects in China, Russia, and England.