Skip to main content

Law, Comparative Guide

Related Guides: Law, Aboriginal & Indigenous • Law, Legal History

Journal Articles & Databases

Journal Articles & Databases

If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. 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.

The following indexes and databases can be used to find articles on comparative law, the legal systems of other countries, Aboriginal/Indigenous law, and/or religious law.

Indexes

Databases

There are other indexes available in print and electronically, as well as more full-text journal databases. Contact a law librarian for assistance.

Books

Books

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.

Search UNB WorldCat:
Limit to: 
Advanced Search | Locations Guide | Help

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:

Quebec Law

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. 

The two main legal encyclopedias in Canada are the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada. Quebec also has its own legal encyclopedia, JurisClasseur Quebec.

  • Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
  • Halsbury's Laws of Canada
  • JurisClasseur Quebec

Legislation

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

Case Law

Case law from Quebec is available in:

  • Lexis+ (law students only)
  • 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 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.

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

  • Canadian Abridgment Digests
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
  • Canada Digest
    • Available via Lexis+ and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
    • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics; or, click Case Summaries > Quebec (under Jurisdiction), then choose a topic.

American Law

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) (aka: AmJur) and Corpus Juris Secundum.

  • American Jurisprudence (2d)
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
      • Click the International tab, then click Secondary Sources under the Westlaw US heading. Once you're in Westlaw US, click Jurisprudence & Encyclopedias and choose American Jurisprudence (2d) from the list.
  • Corpus Juris Secundum (aka: Corpus Juris)
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
      • Click the International tab, then click Secondary Sources under the Westlaw US heading. Once you're in Westlaw US, click Jurisprudence & Encyclopedias and choose Corpus Juris Secundum from the list.

Legislation

American legislation is available in:

  • Lexis+ (law students only)
    • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
    • Change the search box jurisdiction to United States of America, or click the arrow next to CA (by Explore Content) to change jurisdiction, then either search all sources or view all sources.
  • Westlaw Edge (law students only)
    • Click the International tab, then click Statutes & Court Rules or Regulations under the Westlaw US heading.
    • The United States Code Annotated  (USCA) is available via Westlaw US. USCA has all 54 US Code titles and includes the Constitution, court rules, and appendixes. Annotated materials include notes of decisions, cross references, research references, and more. Please note that USCA is unofficial, and you should always reference the official version of the US Code. 
  • 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)
    • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
    • Change the search box jurisdiction to United States of America, or click the arrow next to CA (by Explore Content) to change jurisdiction, then either search all sources or view all sources.
  • 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 2020 terms.
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 West Key Number System is available via the International tab in Westlaw Edge (law students only). Click All Westlaw US under Westlaw US, then Topics & Key Numbers next to the key icon.

Other
  • JURIST  
    • An award-winning online legal news service powered by a global team of over 80 law student reporters, editors, commentators, correspondents, and content developers from 30 law schools on six continents.

U.K. Law

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, available via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students).

Legislation

U.K. legislation is available in:

Government Documents

U.K. government documents are available via:

Case Law

U.K. case law is available in:

  • Lexis+ (law students only)
    • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
    • Change the search box jurisdiction to United Kingdom, or click the arrow next to CA (by Explore Content) to change jurisdiction, then either search all sources or view all sources.
  • 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  (Medieval English Legal History) (via Boston University)
    • An index and paraphrase of printed Year Book Reports, 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 is a U.K. case digest that is available in print only (stack 108) 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.

Other
  • Brexit Guide (from the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple)
    • Up-to-date information regarding the future relationship between the U.K. and the E.U. Links are regularly updated.

Aboriginal & Indigenous Law

Aboriginal & Indigenous Law

For more in-depth information, including sources for Indigenous Law, see the Law, Aboriginal & Indigenous guide.

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 two main legal encyclopedias in Canada are the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada.

  • Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
    • CED has an Aboriginal Law title available (vol. 1 in print series).
  • Halsbury's Laws of Canada
    • Available via Lexis+ (law students only), the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students), and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
    • Halsbury's has an Aboriginal Law title (title code HAB)

Legislation

The statutes and regulations are available in:

Treaties

To find nation-to-nation treaties available in UNB's holdings, search UNB WorldCat. Many treaties are available electronically or in print in the law library.

You can also find treaties on the following sites/databases:

Case Law

Case law is available in:

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.

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

  • Canadian Abridgment Digests
    • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
    • There is an Aboriginal Law title available
  • Canada Digest
    • Available via Lexis+ and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
    • Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics, including the Canada Aboriginal Law Digest

Religious Law

Religious Law

Books

You can find books on the laws of various religions in the UNB Libraries catalogue.

Some titles that might be useful:

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:

GlobaLex Research 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:

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

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)
  • Foreign & International Research Guide  (Yale Law)
    • A comprehensive research guide from Yale's Lillian Goldman Law Library. Includes a country-by-country research guide, a blog, several research guides on foreign and international law, and more. Updated frequently.
  • Constitute Project  
    • Provides access to constitutions around the world and allows for side-by-side comparisons of two documents.
  • FeeFieFoeFirm  
    • A search engine that focuses on the websites of law firms to find opinions from legal experts, law firm bulletins, articles, press releases and more. You can change the jurisdiction to US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and more.
  • 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:

Blogs:

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

More Information More Information