Foreign Law

Comparative Law

Transnational Law

• may not exist• probably not official• might have to pay

A Word re translations

Suggested reading: •Smith, A Foreign Law in Translation, in Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems at pp. 267-76•Yates, "Scaling the Tower of Babel Fish: An Analysis of the Machine Translation of Legal Information," 98 Law Library Journal 481 (2006)

Useful Titles:

• International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law

• International Encyclopaedia of Laws

• Germain's Transnational Law Research

International Encyclopaedia of Laws

• each individual title includes country-by-country monographs describing how each nation addresses the legal subject

• some subjects include “codex” volumes with international treaties and possibly national legislation & case law

International Encyclopaedia of Laws

Germain’s Transnational Law Research

• target audience is practicing attorneys

• especially helpful for transnational litigation

• includes research methodology as well as information about resources

Research Resources: Foreign/Int’l

China

multi

multi

AmericasChina

U.K.

India

multi

Germany

multimulti

multi

Law--china--bibliography

Research Guides, revisited:Check GAVEL to see if we have something in the Law Library on that country

Typical subject heading but also remember KEYWORD searching!

GAVEL keyword searching: try country name with terms like “research*” or “bibliograph*”

Korea and (research* or bibliograph*)

Remember LLRX, GlobaLex and other Web research guides

The old standby

Check the Bluebook to see if the resource is official

Check GAVEL to see if we have the title

Reynolds & Flores includes online resources

Reynolds & Flores: Sweden

The Fine Print

Law Library does not have this item• check GIL• ILL

Who Has It? Check WorldCat

Reynolds & Flores: Belgium

Info about and links to many gazettes available onlinehttp://www-personal.umich.edu/~graceyor/doctemp/gazettes/index.htm

World Constitutions Illustratedin Hein Online

Constitutions of the Countries of the World

Case Law

• Possible subject headings in GAVEL:

• law reports, digests, etc. -- country name• law reports, digests, etc. -- Argentina

• subject matter -- country -- cases• administrative law -- France -- cases

International Law Reports (ILR)

• Court and tribunal decisions, in English, on issues relevant to the international legal system

• includes national court judgments in addition to international tribunals

Sample Contents from one volume of ILR

European Commercial Cases• selected cases from national European courts in specific areas of commercial and business law

Common Market Law Reports• cases on EU law from EU courts and national courts

International Law in Domestic Courts database

International Law in Domestic Courts

Law review articles may include a translation or summary:

• search Lexis or Westlaw or LegalTrac and include “translation” as one of your title search terms

“guest” search - can do from home but not all of dbase available (more full text becoming available freely)

Full access currently at library only - need a Ref Librarian to log you in

Global Legal Information Network

GLIN

Record when not logged in to GLIN

Same record if logged in to GLIN

Text of the doc found in GLIN - from Argentina's legal gazette

Another old standby!

Spanish court decision

Belgian legislation

Tip: try to find a compilation of translations

of laws on a specific subject from a number of

jurisdictions

http://libguides.law.uga.edu/content.php?pid=136402

Search GAVEL for compilations on your subject•Be creative!

Is there an international organization for the subject? Check their publications for compiled legislation or other documents

WIPO

http://www.loc.gov/mulp/

Check GAVEL to see if we have the title!!

InterAm is a database we subscribe to at Law Library: useful for finding selected legislation in the Americas (& some translations)

Translations via InterAm

• some free for most jurisdictions

• The National Law Center for InterAmerican Free Trade will do on-demand translations for a fee (also legislative research)

Tip:• When searching the web for online collections of law by subject, use terms like "global" "countries" "world"

global banking laws

Strategy for finding foreign law

• for a cite check: first try to find specific source using GAVEL, Google, or country-specific databases

• for more extensive research: start with Reynolds & Flores and research guides

Transnational law/transactions concerns

• whose law applies?• where will disputes be heard?• how do I effect services of process?• discovery of docs overseas?• what about enforcing foreign

judgments?• are there standard contract clauses?

• Private international law• Conflict of law• Lex mercatoria

lex mercatoria

Hague Conference on Private International Law

• international judicial and administrative cooperation

• conflict of laws for contracts, torts, family law, protection of children, wills & estates, recognition of companies

• jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments

Hague Conference Conventions

Hague Conference:practical handbooks

Offer explanations of the provisions of specific Hague conventions

UNCITRAL• United Nations Commission on

International Trade Law• mandate: to further progressive

harmonization and unification of international trade law

• major areas: – arbitration– sale of goods

UNCITRAL resources

• conventions, treaties• model laws• legislative guides• arbitration rules• legal guides• case law: CLOUT database of

decisions relating to UNCITRAL conventions and model laws

UNCITRALCLOUT database

court decisions and arbitral awards relating to UNCITRAL conventions and model laws

Sample Contents of CLOUT issue

• purpose: study methods for modernizing, harmonizing and coordinating private and commercial law

• adopted many international conventions and model laws

• Principles of International Commercial Contracts

UNIDROIT resources

• texts of conventions, treaties, model laws, Principles

• UNILEX database• bibliography

excerpt from Principles of Int’l Commercial Contracts

ALI/UNIDROIT Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure

• reconcile differences in national rules of civil procedure

• guidelines for code reform

excerpt from Civ Pro Principles

UNILEX database

• detailed abstracts of important cases by courts worldwide

• full text of cases (when available)

• complete text of the CISG and the UNIDROIT Principles

• status report on CISG ratifications

• bibliographies

excerpt from UNILEX entry

Electronic Library on International Commercial

Law and the CISG• Pace University• provides annotated CISG

– legislative history– case law– links to articles

• searchable database

sample annotated CISG article

Uniform Law Review

scholarly articles on uniform law instruments relating to private int’l commercial law

Tables of Contents from 1996 and selected full text articles available on UNIDROIT

U.S. Dept of StatePrivate International Law

• trade/business transactions law• international judicial assistance• wills, trusts, and estates• family law

U.S. Dept. of State resources

• links to relevant treaties in force in U.S.

• info on current negotiations• practical advice

U.S. Department of StateInternational Judicial

Assistance

• authenticating documents• obtaining apostilles• notaries public abroad• obtaining evidence abroad• preparing letters rogatory abroad• country-by-country information

model apostille under Hague Convention

INCOTERMS

• standard trade definitions commonly used in international contracts

• published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

• ICC site includes the preambles to each of the thirteen areas covered by INCOTERMS

INCOTERMS chart of responsibility

• organization of international legal practitioners (over 30,000 individual members and legal orgs)• many publications and conferences designed to assist in practice of global business law

IBA resources

additional resources• ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources

in International Law: International Economic Law

• Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)

• National Association of Secretaries of State

http://www.sos.ga.gov/elections/commissions/default.htm