Once you have determined what the primary legal sources are for a particular jurisdiction, you must try to locate those sources. The Law Library subscribes to numerous databases that contain the primary sources for other jurisdictions. The best way to locate these databases and access the primary legal sources is through our Research Guides. The Research Guides are separated into the following sections: Australian Law, General Legal, Foreign, Global & Comparative Law, and International Law. Refer to the research guide in your jurisdiction of interest (if available).
You can also access a foreign jurisdiction's research guide via the Law Library's Research Databases - by Jurisdiction. For many of the jurisdictions listed, there is a research guide available that contains in-depth information about legal research in that jurisdiction and relevant databases related to that jurisdiction
These guides will direct you to databases the University of Melbourne Library subscribe to, as well as any freely available websites or databases.
The Foreign Law Guide (UniMelb staff & students) is a database that contains information on over 170 jurisdiction and includes citations and links (where possible) to publications such as major codes, official gazettes, compilations or official codifications, session laws, and court reports. You can browse laws by country and by subject across jurisdictions.
Single entry point to individual EU countries' national law databases. Choose a country from the list or the map to search for legal acts, or find out more about its legal system. Select EN to begin.
The World Legal Information Institute's research database WorldLII contains material on a large range of jurisdictions. WorldLII is a free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by a number of legal information institutes and law faculties around the world. AustLII is one of the collaborating parties in WorldLII.
You can browse by country, database, or region.
Note: Be mindful that as WorldLII is a not-for-profit organisation, the datasets for each country may not be complete, comprehensive or up to date.
While the Law Library has a number of Research Guides on various jurisdictions, there is not a guide on every jurisdiction. If the Law Library does not have a research guide on your particular jurisdiction, try the following resources:
New York University School of Law's Globalex contains a foreign law research collection with chapters on over 150 countries. The guides are written by expert law librarians from each jurisdiction and include information about the legal system and links to free sources of law (if available).
If there are multiple revisions for a guide on a jurisdiction, be sure to click the UPDATE link next to the original guide for that jurisdiction.
Note: the hyperlink to the guide will take you to the first version published. If you see an Update next to the guide - this is the most recent version available.
The United States Library of Congress Law Library has produced guides to online legal research for a variety of nations. These highlight the primary sources for a range of jurisdictions, and where to find them online (if possible). The Library of Congress also has Foreign Law Research Guides for a selection of countries.
Several other universities also produce good foreign and comparative law research guides such as Georgetown Law Library’s Foreign and Comparative Law Research Guide and Harvard Law School Library's Free Legal Research Resources on Foreign and International Law.