Law, Comparative Guide Ask Us

Journal Articles & Databases

The Law Library subscribes to a wide variety of law journals, both online and in print.

If you already know the journal title, year, volume number, and page number for an article, search for the journal's title in the Journals & Newspapers database. If we have access to the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed with the format(s) and dates available with links to those available online. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.

Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.

Full-text Databases

• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text (1981– )
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (1908–1981)
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• LegalTrac
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library
  • Includes the Foreign & International Law Resources Database, which comprises in-depth publications of the American Society of International Law and prominent Yearbooks from around the world, including the Hague Permanent Court of International Justice series.
• INFORMIT Indigenous Collection
• Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)
• CanLII  
  • Click Commentary
• Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN)

Indexes

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text (1981– )
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (1908–1981)
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database
• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (1960–2004)
  • Indexes international and comparative law articles
  • Available in print (only) in the reference section
• Szladits's Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law (1955–1994)
  • Indexes foreign and comparative law articles in two volumes: Subject and Jurisdiction
  • Available in print (only) in the reference section
• LegalTrac
  • Note: this is a hybrid index/full-text database

Books & eBooks

To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.

Items shown as LAW-RESERVE may be requested at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Law Library. Bring the book's call number with you to the desk. Items shown as LAW-STACKS are on the second floor, and LAW-REF materials are on the first floor in the reference section.

Some books that might be helpful for research on comparative law (as a whole) are:

• Advanced Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law, 2nd ed, by Mark Tushnet. LAW-STACKS K3165 .T87 2018.
• The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law, by Mauro Bussani & Ugo Mattei, eds. LAW-STACKS K559 .C36 2012.
• Comparative Law by Mathias Siems. LAW-STACKS K583 .S54 2014.
• Comparative Law: A Handbook, by Esin Örücü & David Nelken, eds. LAW-STACKS K559 .C66 2007.
• Comparative Law and Society, by David S, Clark, ed. LAW-STACKS K559 .C666 2012 and eBook.
• Comparative Law: Law, Reality and Society by Alan Watson. LAW-STACKS K559 .W38 2007.
• A Comparative Study of Cybercrime in Criminal Law: China, US, England, Singapore and the Council of Europe by Qianyun Wang. LAW-STACKS K564 .C6 W36 2017.
• Constitutions Compared: An Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law, 5th ed, by Aalt Willem Heringa. LAW-STACKS K3184 .H47 2019.
• Courts and Comparative Law by Mads Andenas & Duncan Fairgrieve, eds. LAW-STACKS K559 .C68 2019 and eBook.
• A New Introduction to Comparative Law by Jaakko Husa. LAW-STACKS K559 .H87 2015.
• The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law, 2nd ed, by Mathias Reimann & Reinhard Zimmermann, eds. eBook only.
  • 1st ed: LAW-REF K48 .O94 2006 and eBook

Quebec Law

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.

Another legal encyclopedia is JurisClasseur Quebec, which covers Quebec law and is in French only.

Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge, while Halsbury's and JurisClasseur are available in Lexis+/Lexis Advance Quicklaw.

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• How to start your research with the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (5:58)

Halsbury's Laws of Canada

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• In print in the reference section
• Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Lexis Advance Quicklaw (1:45)

JurisClasseur Quebec

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)

Legislation

Quebec statutes (including the Civil Code) and regulations are available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII
• Annotated Civil Code of Quebec  (via Lexum)
  • In French and English. Includes links to legislation, historical notes, and a note-up feature (to find citing cases)

Case Law

Case law from Quebec is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII
• SOQUIJ
  • Provides unofficial English translations of select cases from the Court of Appeal of Quebec, the Superior Court of Quebec, the Court of Quebec, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Professions Tribunal, the Ministère de la Justice of Quebec, and the Société québécoise d'information juridique.

Case Digests

Along with searching the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. Case digests index cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your topic, saving you hours of research time.

Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.

Canadian Abridgment Digests

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• In print in the reference section
• How to start your research with the Canadian Abridgment Digests (5:39)
• How to search the Canadian Abridgment Digests (4:33)

Canada Digest

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
• Canada Digest – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (2:09)

American Law

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

Two American legal encyclopedias are American Jurisprudence (2d) and Corpus Juris Secundum. Both are available in Westlaw Edge.

American Jurisprudence (2d)

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Go to Westlaw US via the International tab and start typing the title
• In print in the reference section

Corpus Juris Secundum (aka: Corpus Juris)

• Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Go to Westlaw US via the International tab and start typing the title

Legislation

American legislation is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then click Statutes & Court Rules or Regulations under the Westlaw US heading.
• United States Code Annotated (USCA)
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then Statutes & Court Rules under the Westlaw US heading, then United States Code Annotated (USCA)
• U.S. Code (official)
• The Legal Information Institute (LII)
• Congress.gov
  • Public laws and congressional bills from 103rd Congress forward, House and Senate reports from 104th Congress forward, the Congressional Record from 104th Congress forward, and bill status and summary information from 93rd Congress forward
• HeinOnline: Session Laws
  • Comprehensive collection of American federal legislation (1789–) and state session laws from colonial times to the present
• Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
  • Records and acts of Congress from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention through the 43rd Congress, including the first three volumes of the Congressional Record, 1873–75
• GovInfo
  • Full-text access to bills beginning with the 103rd Congress, the Congressional Record from 1873–present, selected House and Senate hearings from the 99th Congress forward, and more
• FindLaw
  • Contains free, up-to-date, and easily understandable legal information and tools, as well as a comprehensive lawyer directory.
• Justia
  • Offers free access to federal and state court decisions, codes, regulations, and the full text of the Annotated U.S. Constitution, as well as recent dockets and selected case filings from the U.S. federal district and appellate courts. Also offers legal research guides in various areas and a free Ask A Lawyer service.
• Law Library of Congress
  • Provides authoritative legal research, reference and instruction services, and access to an unrivaled collection of U.S., foreign, comparative, and international law. Digital collection includes legal and legislative materials.
• LLSDC's Legislative Source Book
  • Compiled by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., this contains full-text guides on legislative histories, congressional documents, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and more.
• MuniCode
  • A database of U.S. municipal law.

Case Law

American case law is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then click US Cases under the Westlaw US heading.
• HeinOnline: Early American Case Law
  • Contains the entire Federal Cases 30 book series (1894–1897) and the Trinity Series, which includes American Decisions, American Reports, and American State Reports
• HeinOnline: U.S. Supreme Court Library
  • Contains US Reports (1754–2013) as well as preliminary prints, slip opinions, and books and periodicals related to the US Supreme Court
• The Legal Information Institute (LII)
  • Supreme Court Cases only
• Google Scholar
• Oyez
  • A multimedia archive of the Supreme Court’s audio since the installation of a recording system in October 1955 with transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions (through Justia).
• State Court Websites
  • Links to various state judiciary and court websites. Sites can include rules of court, dockets, and full-texts decisions.
• The Supreme Court Database (U.S.)
  • Contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1791 and 2021 terms.

Case Digests

Along with searching the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. Case digests index cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your topic, saving you hours of research time.

The West Key Number System

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then All Westlaw US under Westlaw US, then Topics & Key Numbers (next to the key icon).

American Law Reports Digest

• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then All Westlaw US under Westlaw US, then type American Law Reports Digest.

U.K. Law

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

The main U.K. legal encyclopedia is Halsbury's Laws of England. Electronically, it is available via Lexis+ (law students only) and Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students).

Halsbury's Laws of England

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• In print in the reference section

Legislation

U.K. legislation is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box.
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box.
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then click United Kingdom under the Other International Materials heading.
• HeinOnline: Statutes of the Realm
  • Covers 1235–1713
• LLMC-Digital
  • Full-text historical materials from common law countries, including cases and legislation
• JustisOne
  • Provides access to all U.K. statutes dating back to 1235 and U.K. statutory instruments back to 1671
• British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)
• The Statutes Project
  • Select historical English, Scottish, and Irish statutes, and various private, local and personal acts.
• Parliament Rolls of Medieval England (PROME)
  • Contains full text and translation of the meetings of the English parliaments from Edward I to Henry VII, covering the years from 1275–1504.
• Legislation.gov.uk
  • U.K. legislation from 1267–present
• Internet Archive
  • Includes historical U.K. legislation, case law, and texts

Government Documents

U.K. government documents are available via:

• U.K. Parliament
• Hansards (1802–present) (via U.K. Parliament)

Case Law

U.K. case law is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box.
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Change the jurisdiction in the search box.
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab, then click United Kingdom under the Other International Materials heading.
• ICLR.3
  • Provides access to every case published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales, along with an archive of unreported case law and citator information
• JustisOne
  • Includes reported and unreported civil and criminal judgments from England and Wales, as well as a citator service that cross-references case law from a number of jurisdictions
• HeinOnline: English Reports, Full Reprint (1220–1867)
• LLMC-Digital
  • Full-text historical materials from common law countries, including cases and legislation
• British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII)
• The Proceedings of the Old Bailey
  • London's central Criminal Court, 1674–1913
• Internet Archive
  • Includes historical U.K. case law, legislation, and texts
• Legal History: The Yearbooks (via Boston University School of Law)
  • An index and paraphrase of printed year book reports from medieval English legal history, 1268–1535

Case Digests

Along with searching the databases mentioned above, you should use a case digest to find case law. A case digest service indexes cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your research topic, saving you hours of time.

The Digest

• In print in the reference section

swarb.co.uk

• Indexes legal judgments for lawyers, students, and litigants in the U.K. It links to many full judgments and adds citations, summaries, and cross references as appropriate.

Indigenous Law

Aboriginal law, created by Canadian courts and legislatures, is about the legal relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown within the Canadian legal system.

Aboriginal law involves the interpretation of Indigenous rights recognized in the Canadian Constitution and other laws created by Canadian governments such as the Indian Act or self-government agreements. Most notably, this body of law includes defining the nature and scope of Aboriginal and Treaty rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Crown's corresponding obligations to Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous law refers to Indigenous Peoples' own legal systems. This includes the laws and legal processes developed by Indigenous Peoples to govern their relationships, manage their lands and waters, and resolve conflicts within and across legal systems. As with Canadian law, Indigenous law is developed from a variety of sources and institutions which differ across legal traditions.

—Kate Gunn & Cody O'Neil, "Indigenous Law & Canadian Courts" (20 January 2021), online (blog): First People's Law <firstpeopleslaw.com/public-education/blog/indigenous-law-canadian-courts>.

For sources of Indigenous Law, including stories and narratives, websites, and secondary sources like articles and textbooks, see the Indigenous Law section of the Law, Aboriginal & Indigenous guide.

Religious Law

Books

You can find books on the laws of various religions in the UNB Libraries catalogue, including:

Canon Law

• Canon Law in the Anglican Communion: A Worldwide Perspective by Norman Doe. LAW-STACKS BX5955 .D64 1998 and eBook.
• Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England: A Handbook by Rhidian Jones. eBook only.
• Code of Canon Law, translation prepared under the auspices of the Canon Law Society of America. LAW-STACKS BX1935 .C38 1983.
• Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary, James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green & Donald E. Heintschel, eds. LAW-STACKS BX1935 .C3813 1985.
• An Introduction to Canon Law, revised ed, by James A. Coriden. eBook only.
  • 1st ed: LAW-STACKS KBU160 .C67 1991.

Jewish Law

• The Criminal Code of the Jews: According to the Talmud, Massecheth Synhedrin by Philip Berger Benny. LAW-STACKS KBM3800 .B46 1880 and eBook.
• An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law, by N.S. Hecht, ed. LAW-REF KMK68 .I57 1996 and eBook.
• Jewish Law: History, Sources, Principles / Ha-Mishpat Ha-Ivri [4 vols] by Menachem Elon, translated from the Hebrew by Bernard Auerbach & Melvin J. Sykes. LAW-REF KMK68 .E46 1994.
• Jewish Law (Mishpat Ivri): Cases and Materials by Menachem Elon. LAW-STACKS KMK68 .J48 1999
• The Origin and History of Hebrew Law by J.M. Powis Smith. LAW-STACKS KBM520.52 .S65 1931 and eBook.

Islamic Law

• An Introduction to Islamic Law by Wael B. Hallaq. LAW-STACKS KBP144 .H35 2009.
• Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, by Nicholas Heer, ed. LAW-STACKS K555 .I84 1990.
• Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law by E Ann Black, Hossein Esmaeili & Nadirsyah Hosen. LAW-STACKS KBP144 .B53 2013 and eBook.
• The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation, 3rd revised ed, by Jamal J.A. Nasir. LAW-STACKS KBP526.32 .N37 2009 and eBook.

Journal Articles

When searching for articles, the databases and/or indexes listed in the Journal Articles & Databases tab. Remember: you can narrow your search by subject in most databases/indexes, so keep that in mind when researching a particular religion's law.

Some specific journals you may want to visit are:

• Arab Law Quarterly
• Islamic Law and Society
• The Journal of Islamic Law & Culture
• UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law
• National Jewish Law Review
• Jewish Law Report
• Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law
• The Catholic Lawyer/Journal of Catholic Legal Studies

Research Guides

GlobaLex Guides

GlobaLex is an electronic legal publication dedicated to international and foreign law research. Published by the Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law, GlobaLex has several comparative law research guides that list books, articles, websites, and more on various topics. Check the UNB Libraries catalogue for materials listed in the guides.

GlobaLex guides that might be helpful include:

• Canon Law Research Guide  (updated November/December 2020)
  • Covers Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, and Mormon churches
• Religious Legal Systems in Comparative Law - A Guide to Introductory Research  (updated July/August 2022)
  • Covers Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Confucian laws and legal theories
• Sharīʿah Law in South East Asian (ASEAN) Region: Business and Religion – An Exploratory Introduction  (updated November/December 2017)
  • Presents a general broad-based view on Sharīʿah law as practiced and observed in South East Asian region

Lillian Goldman Law Library (Yale Law) Research Guides

The Lillian Goldman Law Library has several research guides on various topics, including Islamic Law. Check the UNB Libraries catalogue for materials listed in the guide.

Websites & Blogs

The following websites may be helpful for your research (note: many of these links are also available in other sections of this guide).

General

• GlobaLex  
  • An electronic legal publication dedicated to international and foreign law research. Published by the Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law, GlobaLex has several comparative law research guides that list books, articles, websites, and more on various topics, including:
    • Comparative Law Research (includes guides on African law, religious law (Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, and more), comparative criminal procedure, comparative civil procedure, Latin American law, and more)
    • International Law Research (includes guides on the African Union, the European Union, international Indigenous law, international human rights, human trafficking, international criminal law, international refugee law, and more)
    • Foreign Law Research (includes guides on legal systems from around the world, including Afghanistan, Australia, Belarus, Cambodia, Germany, India, Iran, and many more)
• Country by Country Guide to Foreign Legal Research (Yale Law)
  • A comprehensive research guide from Yale's Lillian Goldman Law Library. Updated frequently.
• Constitute Project
  • Provides access to constitutions around the world and allows for side-by-side comparisons of two documents.
• FLARE: Foreign Law Research
  • A collaboration between the major libraries collecting foreign law in the United Kingdom working to improve the coverage and accessibility of foreign legal materials at the national level and to raise expertise in their use.
• Foreign Law Translations (via University of Texas at Austin School of Law)
  • A resource for French, German, Austrian, and Israeli legal materials in the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract, and tort law.

Specific Jurisdictions

You can find legal materials for other jurisdictions in the following databases:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
• Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• WorldLII
  • A free, independent, and non-profit global legal research facility that provides links to over 15,000 law-related web sites in every country in the world.
• Centre de traduction et de terminologie juridiques (CTTJ)
  • Established in 1979 by the Université de Moncton Faculty of Law to further the implementation of bilingualism within the legal systems of Canada’s common law jurisdictions.
• LégiFrance (in French)
  • Provides access to laws and decrees published in the Journal officiel, important court rulings, collective labour agreements, standards issued by European institutions, and international treaties and agreements to which France is a party.
• German Law Archive
  • Publishes cases, statutes, literature and bibliographies on German law in English language.
• Germany's Federal Constitutional Court
  • English translations of select cases from Germany's Federal Constitutional Court.
• Mexican Law and Legal Research Guide
  • An article that provides a contextualized overview of how to conduct research on Mexican law, referencing applicable Spanish-language resources and highlighting any available sources in English.
• Philippine Legal Resources Online (via Chan Robles Virtual Law Library)
  • Provides Philippine law and government information.

Blogs

You can find lists of legal blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms on the following sites:

• lawblogs.ca (Canada)
• ABA Journal's Best Law Blogs (US)
• Top 100 Legal Blogs Every Lawyer and Law Student Must Follow (mostly US but has other jurisdictions)
• Top 100 UK Law Blogs & Websites Every lawyer in UK Must Follow
• Top 25 Australia Law Blogs and Websites For Australian Lawyers
• 25 Legal Publications, Blogs, & Podcasts Every Law Student Should Follow (via Purdue Global Law School)