Understanding Foreign Legal Systems and Tools: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Foreign Law Tools and Strategies

2. Foreign Legal Systems:Common-law • judges as makers of primary law • court decisions complement legislation • codes merely compile statutes • procedure very influential

3. Foreign Legal Systems:Civil Law • civil codes as closed system • courts may not have power to review executive or legislative decisions (but cf. constitutional courts) • private vs. public law • judges not supposed to be making law • importance of “doctrine”

4. Islamic legal systems • Most often a “mixed” system • Qur'an, Sunnah, fiqh • Most sources in Arabic • May be codified

5. Convergence • Common-law systems may codify (e.g., UCC) • Greater role for precedent in civil law systems • More constitutional courts; have invalidated parts of codes

6. University of Ottawa JuriGlobe

7. Finding foreign law • Identify resources available to you • Understand country’s legal system • Reynolds & Flores • Country guides • Secondary sources • Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia

8. Reynolds & Flores: Best single source

10. After Reynolds & Flores (or instead) • Country-specific research guide • Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest (Lexis/web) • Local law library—use catalog, local guides

11. Subject Collections • Online or print • Not country-specific! • More later!

12. Key web sources • GlobaLex (country guides) • WorldLII • government sites • search engines • GLIN

13. GlobaLex

15. WORLDLII

18. LLC Global Legal Information Catalog: Searching subject collections

19. GLIN:Global Legal Information Network

20. GLIN “More Search Options”

21. GLIN Thesaurus • Controlled vocabulary (index)

22. GLIN Thesaurus (continued)

25. Translations • Unavailable for most foreign legal materials • Expensive • Often outdated • Usually not authoritative • Free electronic translations (e.g., Google Translate) can help for gist ONLY

26. Finding primary law • Strategies diverge • By country • developed vs. developing • common law vs. civil • English-language vs. other • By subject • commercial vs. other • human rights aspect?

27. Subject compilations • available for lucrative practice areas • commentary or primary materials or both • generally in English • not always up-to-date • often looseleaf (e.g., 1986- ) • Some listed on Researching Foreign Law guide at U Minn Library • Charlotte Bynum’s guide at GlobaLex

28. Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest (on LexisNexis and free web) • updated annually • skeletal information on basic legal questions • some citations • covers fewer countries than Reynolds & Flores

29. Other sources for commercial law • “Doing Business in…” guides • government websites • monographs • periodical articles

30. Subjects and sources • Criminal law -- Buffalo collection • Litigation – practice guides • Administrative – agency websites • Human rights – NGO sites • Environment – UNEP, FAO, etc. • IP –WIPO, UNESCO, even US treatises • Labor law --NATLEX

31. WESTLAW • Mostly common-law, English-language jurisdictions • Coverage somewhat volatile

32. Westlaw Directory

34. LEXIS • Mostly common-law, English-language jurisdictions • Coverage somewhat volatile

36. Lexis—Irish materials

37. Last resorts • electronic discussion lists (listservs) • Foreign embassies • Law Library of Congress • State Department country desk • translators • foreign counsel