FOREIGN & COMPARATIVE LAW RESEARCH TRAINING University of Miami Law Library Foreign & Comparative Law Spring, 2012

Foreign Law 2012 The domestic law of a non U.S. jurisdiction.

Comparative Law 2012 The study and evaluation of the differences and similarities between two or more legal systems.

Challenges 2012

Language 2012 Foreign law is usually only published in the language of the country.

Availability 2012 Even if you read the appropriate foreign language, it can be difficult to find the primary materials.

Translations 2012 Translations are rarely official. Unofficial translations are secondary sources.

Reliability 2012 Is the translation reliable?

Secondary Sources 2012 Secondary sources are especially important, since it can be difficult to find primary materials.

Abbreviations 2012  Prince’s Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations – 2009 – book Prince’s Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations  World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations – book World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations

 Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations – electronic Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations 2012

Citations 2012  The Bluebook The Bluebook  Rule 20: Foreign Materials (page 179) T2 – Jurisdiction Specific citation Example - Chile

Citations 2012  Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations, Wolters Kluwer, 2009 (NYU) – book Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations  First edition on web – 2006

Citations 2012  Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities – electronic [OSCOLA] Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities

Foreign Dictionary 2012  Example –  English/Spanish and Spanish/English legal dictionary English/Spanish and Spanish/English legal dictionary

Books to Get You Started 2012  Mary Ann Glendon, et al. Comparative Legal Traditions: text, materials and cases on Western Law, 3dComparative Legal Traditions: text, materials and cases on Western Law  Mary Ann Glendon, Comparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell, 3d edComparative Legal Traditions in a Nutshell  Claire Germain, Germain’s Transnational Law Research: a guide for attorneys Germain’s Transnational Law Research: a guide for attorneys

More Books 2012  Marci Hoffman and Mary Rumsey and Foreign Legal Research: a coursebook – 2008  Marci Hoffman and Mary Rumsey International and Foreign Legal Research: a coursebook – 2008 and Foreign Legal Research: a coursebook International and Foreign Legal Research: a coursebook  Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia – 2005 Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia  John Henry Merryman, The Civil Law Tradition: an introduction to the legal systems of Europe and Latin America, 2007The Civil Law Tradition: an introduction to the legal systems of Europe and Latin America

CALI Lessons to Get You Started 2012 CALI Lessons  Examples of Lessons: Introduction to Foreign Legal Research, Introduction to Human Rights Research, and Researching Canadian Law: Case Approach.

Research Guides to Get You Started 2012  Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London  LLRX.com LLRX.com  GlobaLex GlobaLex

Research Guides to Get You Started 2012  BerkeleyLaw Library BerkeleyLaw Library  Duke Law – Library & Technology Duke Law – Library & Technology

TIP Learn about the legal system before looking for the law Learn how its legal resources are structured: what codes or statutes exist, what role case law plays, etc.

TIP Use secondary resources This will hopefully lead you to citations to the proper statute, code or case, etc

TIP Now look for the law Depending on your Topic You can use (if one exists) a subject compilation of laws or You can look for the law by country

TIP Remember that unofficial translations are secondary sources Is the translation a summary or a full translation?

Legal Systems 2012  Civil  Common  Customary  Muslim  Mixed

2012

JuriGlobe–World Legal Systems – Research Group 2012 JuriGlobe is a research group formed by professors from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa, which focuses on the development of a multilingual information data bank, accessible to all on the internet, containing general information relating to the different legal systems in the world, to the different official languages and to some of the most important international commercial conventions, as well as other multilateral commercial tools.different

Country Reports/Studies 2012  Lexis.com Lexis.com  News & Business / Country & Region (excluding U.S.)  Library of Congress Library of Congress  CIA World Factbook CIA World Factbook

Sites 2012

Law Library of Congress – Guide to Law Online 2012  International and Multinational International and Multinational  Nations of the World Nations of the World  U.S. Federal - includes U.S. Code and Constitution U.S. FederalU.S. Code Constitution  U.S. States and Territories U.S. States and Territories  Guide Index – by Country Guide Index

Country-by-Country Guides to Foreign Legal Research 2012  Lillian Goldman Law Library (Yale)

Foreign Law Sites 2012  Cornell Law Library  Country-by-country listing of information on web. Also includes international and regional information

Foreign Law Guide 2012  Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World Reynolds and Flores  Access – Baron  H=foreign+law+guide H=foreign+law+guide  Subscription Databases - es.php es.php  Internet Resources - Foreign

World Legal Information Institute 2012  Access: Internet Resources - Foreign  Voluntary Site  List of countries with links to legal material available on the internet  1230 databases from 123 jurisdictions via 14 Legal Information Institutes 1230 databases 14 Legal Information Institutes

Digests 2012

Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digests 2012  Martindale.com –  Search the Legal Library – Advanced Search  Country Name

Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digests 2012  Lexis – Print & Electronic [Lexis.com]Electronic  More advanced searching than with Martindale.com  Legal – find “Laws by Country or Region”- “Foreign Laws & Legal Sources” - International Law Digests

Treatises 2012  Baron Baron  “doing business”  Brazil  International business transactions with Brazil International business transactions with Brazil

Deskbooks 2012  Access – BaronBaron  Example  China Law deskbook: a legal guide for foreign-invested enterprises. ABA 2010 China Law deskbook: a legal guide for foreign-invested enterprises

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals 2012  The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, produced by The American Association of Law Libraries, provides access to legal literature worldwide, covering all forms of foreign (non- Anglo-American) law.  This includes comparative law and legal systems, such as Islamic law; socialist law; public and private international law; and transnational commercial law –  HeinOnline HeinOnline

2012  Subscription Databases  Law Journals  Separate listing for International & Non-US law journals  Yearbooks  Browse through different Journals for current awareness – comparative topics – “I”  Search also – do a field search – words in title or years  Table of Contents  pdf

Political Database of the Americas 2012  Access: Internet Resources - Foreign  Georgetown  Links to executive, judicial and legislative information for 35 countries – including constitutions

GLIN – Global Legal Information Network 2012  Public database of official texts of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations.  These GLIN members contribute the full texts of their published documents to the database in their original languages.  Each document is accompanied by a summary in English  All summaries are available to the public, and public access to full texts is also available for most jurisdictions.

Constitution of the Countries of the World 2012  Access: Internet Resources - Foreign  Oceana  Provides English translations in full-text of almost 200 country constitutions.  Only one user may access this service at one time.

Constitution Finder 2012  University of Richmond

Government Gazettes Online Government Gazettes Online University of Michigan 2012  Access: Internet Resources – Foreign  Attempts to list all online government gazettes and their characteristics.  A description of the contents and coverage are included for each gazette

Lexis - Foreign 2012  Legal  Find Laws by Country or Region

Westlaw - Foreign 2012  Add a Tab

Current Awareness 2012  Library of Congress – Global Legal Monitor Library of Congress – Global Legal Monitor  The Global Legal Monitor is an online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from the Global Legal Information Network, official national legal publications, and reliable press sources.

Research Approaches and Strategy 2012  Secondary Sources  Use Indexes, Table of Contents  Call an Expert – Librarians, the embassy, etc.