Library Guides: Foreign and Comparative Law: Translations of foreign laws

Translations of foreign laws

If you need to translate foreign legal information:

Indicate who was responsible for the translation (translator, scholar, etc)
Use online translator services to get a sense of the meaning of information
Find a bilingual dictionary in the library catalogue

Note: Online translating tools do not create official or authorised translations. We do not recommend referring to unofficial translations in assessments.

TIP: New York University's Globalex Foreign Law Guides may also include information for obtaining translations of particular jurisdictions' laws.

The following websites produce translations of laws for a particular subject area:

WIPO Lex
WIPO Lex contains national laws and treaties on intellectual property from selected countries which are WIPO, WTO or UN members. it is a good source for selected civil codes in the vernacular and in translation.
NATLEX
NATLEX is the International Labour Organization's legal database containing legislation on national labour, social security and related human rights from over 190 countries. The legislation has been translated into English, Spanish and French.

International law journals

Selected international law journals may include commentary or translations of changes to laws or important judicial updates on a range of jurisdictions.

International Legal Materials
Publishes landmark foreign laws and cases or comment on them in English
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
A multilingual index to articles and book reviews appearing in legal journals published worldwide