Law, Comparative Guide Ask Us

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

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Available via Lexis+ (non-law UNB/STU use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (print only; available in the reference section on the first floor)
  • Indexes international and comparative law articles from 1960–2004
• Iszladits's Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law (print only; available in the reference section on the first floor)
  • Indexes foreign and comparative law articles in two volumes: Subject and Jurisdiction
  • Coverage includes 1955–1994

Databases

• LegalTrac
• Lexis+ (non-law students use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library
• INFORMIT Indigenous Collection
• Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)

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

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.

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:

• The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law, edited by Mauro Bussani & Ugo Mattei / LAW-STACKS K559 .C36 2012.
• Comparative Law by Mathias Siems / LAW-STACKS K583 .S54 2014.
• Comparative Law: A Handbook, edited by Esin Örücü & David Nelken / LAW-STACKS K559 .C66 2007.
• Comparative Law and Society, edited by David S Clark / LAW-STACKS K559 .C666 2012 and eBook.
• Comparative Law: Law, Reality and Society by Alan Watson / LAW-STACKS K559 .W38 2007.
• The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law, edited by Mathias Reimann & Reinhard Zimmermann / 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. 

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
  • 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)
• JurisClasseur Quebec
  • Available via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
  • Note that it is in French only, with no English translation.

Legislation

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

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
  • Lexis+ also has the Quebec rules of court.
• 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)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
• 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

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.

• 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
  • 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

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:

• 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.
• 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 (1803–2005; incomplete) (via Millbank Systems)
• Hansards (1802–present) (via U.K. Parliament)

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

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:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII  
• LEGISinfo  (Parliament of Canada)
  • Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
• Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick  
• New Brunswick Acts and Regulations  (NB Attorney General)
  • Includes current legislation, rules of court, the Royal Gazette, the status of bills, and more
• Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)

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:

• Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System  (ATRIS)
• Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat  (AFN) (has downloadable educational posters on Atlantic Peace and Friendship Treaties)
• Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada  (CIRNAC) (includes treaties from the mid-1700s to the early 1900s)
• Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)
• Library and Archives Canada's Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements database  

Case Law

Case law is available in:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• CanLII  
• Supreme Court of Canada Cases  
• Federal Court of Canada Cases  
• Specific Claims Tribunal Canada  
• New Brunswick Court Index  (Justice and Public Safety)
• New Brunswick Courts  
• Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)
• Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System  (ATRIS)

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

Books

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

Some titles that might be useful:

• An Introduction to Canon Law by James A Coriden / LAW-STACKS KBU160 .C67 1991 and eBook.
• The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary edited by James A Coriden, Thomas J Green & Donald E Heintschel / LAW-STACKS BX1935 .C3813 1985.
• 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.
• An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law edited by NS Hecht / 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
• An Introduction to Islamic Law by Wael B. Hallaq / LAW-STACKS KBP144 .H35 2009.
• Islamic Law and Jurisprudence edited by Nicholas Heer / LAW-STACKS K555 .I84 1990 and eBook.
• The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation, 3rd ed by Jamal JA 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

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:

• 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 April 2017)
  • 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)
• 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:

• Lexis+ (law students only)
  • Non-law students: use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw
• 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.
• Israel Supreme Court Decisions
  • Supreme Court decisions in English.
• 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 Concord Law School)