Researching foreign law frequently requires accessing and interpreting statutes enacted in non-U.S. jurisdictions, whose language may not be Engish. Without a specific citation, it will be necessary at the very least to verify the citation of foreign statutes, and possibly to search for them by subject if you do not already have a citatiion, title, or other identifying information. Most important, it will also be necessary to find authoritative English-language translations of statutes (or at least an English-language summary) if you or your audience do not have access to the language of the target jurisdiction. This can pose quite a challenge, and it may not always be possible to locate the most up-to-date version of a foreign statute in English.
The single most important source is a subscription database, entitled Foreign Law Guide, which permits searches by country, then subject, or less commonly, by subject, then country. Suppose you needed the Greek bankruptcy code. You would look up Greece, then click on the topic Bankruptcy and Insolvency, to retrieve the following information:
Note that this entry provides both the citation to the official publication of the statute as well as a citation to a source in which an English-language version may be found (together with a summary of the statute). If you look up Revue Hellenique de Droit International in IUCAT, you will find that it is available in PDF in HeinOnline, so you could go there to get a PDF version of the bankruptcy code.
Alternatively, you could search for the statute you need in a full-text periodical database, such as HeinOnline, Lexis, or Weslaw. If the statute is likely to be published in a non-law journal, you might search JSTOR as well.The following is an Advanced Search in HeinOnline:
This search retrieves the same article cited in the Foreign Law Guide:
Suppose you are looking for the Finnish Law on Registered Domestic Partnerships. The following link from a list of Finnish statutes in Lexadin provides access to an English-language version of the statute published by the Finnish Ministry of Justice. Worldlii (Worald Legal Information Institute) also provides links to many statutes.
There are many comparative sources, electronic and in print, that compile statutes from multiple jurisdictions on a given topic. Examples include Constitutions of the World, which includes the text of national and regional/state constitutions from around the world, as well as explanatory text; World Constitutions Illustrated, in HeinOnline, which includes current and historical constitutions of many jurisdictions; Comparative Environmental Law and Regulation (K3585.4 .C65 1996); International Copyright Law and Practice (Lexis); Commercial Laws of Europe (KJC2044.3 .C65). Many of these sources will be cited in Foreign Law Guide.
Try searching Google Books. The statute may be published as an appendix to a book, or at least discussed and summarized. The Advanced Search interface permits more precise searches. Searching for "Act on Registered Partnerships Finland" retrieves a reference to Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Couples in Europe (2003), which includes the following summaary of the Finnish law:
LIke Google Books, WorldCat may be used to locate material that discusses the statute you are researching, even if it does not include the actual text. If you were interested in registered domestic partners in Denmark, WorldCat woulld retrieve the 2011 International Survey of Family Law, with the following search:
In this title you would find the following chapters:
"Denmark Registered and Unmarried Partners in Denmark --- Recent Legal Developments / Ingrid Lund-Andersen -- I.Introduction -- II.Registered partners -- (a).The newest development -- (b).Statistics on registered partnerships -- III.Provisions on cohabitants in the Inheritance Act -- (a).The committee's proposal -- (b).The Ministry of Justice's proposal -- IV.Closing considerations --"
There are several web sites that provide access to country research guides, including GlobaLex. Research guides often include informationn about where you can find English-language translations of statutes, as in the following example, taken from the GlobaLex updated guide on German law:
There are also other research guides on comparative legal research. These include Globalex's Comparative Law research guide; Duke University's Foreign & Comparative Law research guide; Georgetown University's Foreign and Comparative Law Research Guide.
