Legal research

Overseas jurisdictions

CommonLII: Commonwealth Legal Information Institute   

Search or browse by individual Commonwealth country or use the advanced search to search all CommonLII databases for legislation and cases.

WorldLII: World Legal Information Institute   

A free site linking to treaties databases, international courts and tribunals and links to other countries' courts, parliaments sites etc. (where available online).

EUR-Lex: Access to European Union Law (website)

EUR-Lex (on Factiva)   

EUR-Lex coverage includes legal documents of the European Union from 1951: treaties, legislation, case law, preparatory documents and parliamentary questions.

Go to Factiva News Pages tab. Select European Union as the source country. You will then be able to perform a EUR-Lex search.

HeinOnline World Constitutions Illustrated   

Research the constitutional and political development of every country in the world. You can also link to other related works such as the World Fact Book and scholarly articles. Once you have logged into HeinOnline you will need to choose this collection from the navigation pane on the left to search it.

Lexis Advance US Research   

Primary legal materials of the United States’ federal, states and territories and UK jurisdictions with a range of secondary sources including US and international law and business journals. Includes Shephard’s Citations.

Unilex   

A collection of international case law and bibliography on two of the most important international instruments for the regulation of international commercial transactions.

Lexis Advance US Research   

Canadian federal legislation and case law for all jurisdictions.

HeinOnline   

Offers a large range of international legal resources including the Canada Supreme Court Reports.

CanLII   

The Canadian Legal Information Institute

Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) for England & Wales   

The Law Reports (1865 to present day); The Weekly Law Reports (1953 to present day); The Industrial Cases Reports (1972 to present day); The Business Law Reports (2007 to present day) and The Public & Third Sector Law Reports (2009 to present day).

Westlaw UK   

Westlaw UK’s United Kingdom materials include UK case law and court documents, legislation, journals and law reviews. Westlaw UK also contains legal materials pertaining to the USA, European Union and Hong Kong.

Heinonline   

Offers a large range of legal resources including the Law Journal Library, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Canada Supreme Court Reports, English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1867), European Center for Minority Issues, Federal Register/Code of Federal Regulations, Legal Classics, Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Pentagon Papers, Treaties and Agreements Library, United States Code, U.S. Attorney General Opinions, U.S. Federal Legislative History Library, U.S. Presidential Library, U.S. Statutes at Large, the U.S. Supreme Court Library. It also contains the Intellectual Property Law Collection.

Lexis Advance US Research   

Primary legal materials of the United States’ federal, states and territories and UK jurisdictions with a range of secondary sources including US and international law and business journals. Includes Shephard’s Citations.

U.K. Parliamentary Papers   

The U.K. Parliamentary Papers are the most detailed primary source for nineteenth-century Britain, its colonies, and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic, and foreign policy. It includes all of the papers issued by the House of Commons between 1801-1900 in all formats including bills and reports of Royal Commissions. Best used in Firefox or Chrome.

legislation.gov.uk   

An extensive, free site with selected legislation of the United Kingdom from 1267.

Halsbury’s Laws of England   

Halsbury’s “provides the only comprehensive narrative statement of the law of England and Wales, containing law derived from every source.” and is updated regularly. It is also classified as ‘commentary’.

Lawbore   

Written by City University, London, this is a law student's guide to the web focusing on UK Law.

Databases

Lexis Advance US Research   

Primary legal materials of the United States’ federal, states and territories and UK jurisdictions with a range of secondary sources including US and international law and business journals. Includes Shephard’s Citations.

Heinonline   

Offers a large range of legal resources including the Law Journal Library, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Canada Supreme Court Reports, English Reports, Full Reprint (1220-1867), European Center for Minority Issues, Federal Register/Code of Federal Regulations, Legal Classics, Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Pentagon Papers, Treaties and Agreements Library, United States Code, U.S. Attorney General Opinions, U.S. Federal Legislative History Library, U.S. Presidential Library, U.S. Statutes at Large, the U.S. Supreme Court Library. It also contains the Intellectual Property Law Collection.


Free websites for Legislation

GovInfo (Government Publishing Office) - Federal Slip Laws

Congress - Federal Slip Laws

Congress - Private Laws

GovInfo (Government Publishing Office) STATUTES AT LARGE - Federal Session Laws

Library of Congress - STATUTES AT LARGE - Federal Session Laws

Library of Congress - State Slip Laws and State Session Laws

State Legal Materials - State Slip Laws and State Session Laws

The United States Code - Federal

Legal Information Institute (LII)


Free websites for Case Law

Google Scholar - US Case Law   

Type case name or citation into the search box and select the Case Law radio button. You can also put your topic in and limit your search to case law. Then use the refine options on the left hand side of the screen.

Ravel   

Has a free component which includes the jurisdictions of the US Supreme and Circuit Courts. You can sign up for a free account to access the full case database or you can log in with your LinkedIn or Google account.

CCH iKnowConnect   

Includes a range of resources in the subject of Taxation, Accounting and Business Law.

Index to legal periodicals & books full text (H.W. Wilson)   

This bibliographic database cites articles from legal periodicals and indexes law books that cover the following topics: administrative law, antitrust legislation, banking, constitutional law, domestic relations, environmental protection, estate planning, food, drug & cosmetic law, international law, labor law, landlord/tenant decisions, malpractice suits, minorities, multinational corporations, negligence, non-profit corporations, occupational health & safety, politics, probate, products liability, public law, real property, securities, tax law, and trade regulation

Index to legal periodicals retrospective: 1908-1981 (H.W. Wilson)   

Index of Legal Periodicals Retrospective: 1908-1981 is a database that indexes over 750 legal periodicals published from 1908-1981 in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Sherloc   

This is a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) free portal containing legal resources pertaining to organised crime and terrorism.