Countries other than the UK have their own legal systems and sources of law. From a UK perspective this law from other jurisdictions is often referred to as 'foreign law'.
Law created at a supra-national level derived from treaties, case law and custom between countries as well as law developed by international organisations, such as the United Nations, is referred to as 'international law'.
In addition to the primary sources of foreign and international law there is secondary legal information (books, journals etc.) associated with these non-UK jurisdictions.
After we’ve looked at how to find non-UK legal materials, you should:
Be aware of some of the main subscription and publicly accessible sources of foreign and international law.
Know how to access non-UK materials on the databases Westlaw and Lexis Library.
Know how to use publicly accessible online ‘Legal Information Institute’ sites to access law from specific countries.
Key online sources of foreign and international legal information
Content includes:
• United States: Federal and State legislation and case law, journals/law reviews, and other secondary materials.
• Canada: Federal and Provincial legislation and case law, journals/law reviews, and other secondary materials.
• Australia: Federal and State/Territory case law, journals, and other secondary materials.
• International Law: Content includes case law from the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Tribunals and materials from organisations including WTO / GATT, WIPO, UNICIRAL, and NAFTA.
Non-U.K. material is available via the ‘Westlaw International’ link.
Users should sign in to this resource using University credentials. First time users (and users who have not accessed Westlaw in over 15 months) will also be prompted to register an account. Please follow our Westlaw Registration Instructions before accessing the resource for the first time.
Use your University of Strathclyde email address when registering. Users are not required to create a separate password for this resource.
Thomson Reuter's Privacy Policy and Cookies information can be viewed via links on the site.
Content includes:
• United States: Federal and State legislation and case law, journals/law reviews, and other secondary materials.
• Canada: Federal and Provincial legislation and case law, journals/law reviews, and other secondary materials.
• Australia: Federal and State/Territory case law, journals, and other secondary materials.
• New Zealand: Case law and commentary including ‘The Laws of New Zealand’ encyclopaedia (NZ equivalent of ‘Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia’).
• South Africa: Includes ‘Butterworths Statutes of South Africa’ and ‘Butterworths South African Constitutional Law Reports’.
• International Law: Content includes case law from the International Court of Justice, material from organisations including WTO / GATT, and some treaties.
Material from non-UK jurisdictions can be found under the ‘International’ tab.
To access non-UK materials, at the top of the screen select 'Global Home'.
You can then select a jurisdiction or a practice area and view the associated resources.
Users should sign in to this resource using University credentials. First time users (and users who have not accessed Westlaw in over 15 months) will also be prompted to register an account. Please follow our Westlaw Registration Instructions before accessing the resource for the first time.
Use your University of Strathclyde email address when registering. Users are not required to create a separate password for this resource.
Thomson Reuter's Privacy Policy and Cookies information can be viewed via links on the site.
HeinOnline provides access to content from U.S., Canadian and other jurisdictions including:
• United States: United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Early American Case Law, Federal Register Library, Pentagon Papers, U.S. Attorney General & Department of Justice Collection, U.S. Federal Legislative History Library, U.S. Presidential Library, U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Supreme Court Library
• Canada: Canada Supreme Court Reports, Revised Statutes of Canada
• International Law: Treaties and Agreements Library (U.S.)
• World Constitutions Illustrated
• The Law Journal Library also contains many U.S., Canadian and other foreign periodicals.
From the HeinOnline home page resources are listed under ‘Subscribed Libraries’.
The World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) is a free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by the following Legal Information Institutes and other organisations.
More information about finding and using non-UK and international legal information
For more information about finding and using non-UK and international legal information take a look at our Foreign and International Legal Information guide:
