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Comparative Constitutional Law Research Guide

Introduction

Researching comparative constitutional law usually involves locating three different types of materials: the text of the constitutions, scholarly writings about your topic, and if possible, relevant case law from the selected country. This research guide is organized by these areas.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

Sources for Constitutions

The text of foreign constitutions may be found in a variety of sources including both print and electronic mediums. Current constitutions are often available on foreign government websites, but usually only in the local language. The publications listed below are large collections of foreign constitutions (usually in English).

If these sources do not have the necessary constitution, consult Foreign Law Guide (GULC only). Just locate your jurisdiction and then see the "Constitution and Political Legislation" subject heading to locate citations that provide the text of the constitution.

Selected Database and Print Sources

Selected Websites

Commentary and Analysis

Scholarly writings provide detailed analysis, comparative discussions and historical perspective. Very often these materials summarize, quote, reprint, and cite legislation, case law and other pertinent primary and secondary sources. Scholarly materials are not usually available free on the web. However, the library subscribes to some useful databases that are accessible electronically.

Use keyword searching in the online catalog to locate materials in the library. Sample keyword searches could be "constitution and South Africa" or "France and constitutional history."

Selected Titles

The followings titles are just a sampling of recent publications that the library owns that provide commentary on constitutional law.

Electronic Full Text Databases of Scholarly Materials

Below are highlighted two databases that are especially helpful for locating policy materials. For a complete list of databases available at the library, see our online collection.

  • Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
    Scholarly documents from leading international relations research centers. Complete texts of working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences. Also, journal issues and books. Coverage begins in 1991. (GULC only)
  • PolicyFile : Public Policy Research and Analysis
    Abstracts of data from public policy think tanks, university research programs and publishers, with coverage from 1990. Links to organizational home pages and to full text documents, where available. (GULC only)

Legal Periodicals & Indexes

Periodical literature is a good way to obtain background information, locate the text of a foreign law or citation, or to find scholarly commentary about a subject. Sometimes, periodicals are your only source for foreign laws or case summaries. Indexes are the most efficient and comprehensive means of locating articles. Remember, Westlaw and Lexis have limited full text journal articles and limited international journal coverage. The library has many other indexes. Consult the Journal Index page for a complete list. If you would like more help with searching for journals, see our general guide on journal searching or our guide on locating foreign and international journal articles.

Full Text Articles - Electronic Access

Your first step in determining whether you have full-text electronic access to a journal article is to check the E-Journal Finder. This is located on our homepage, under Quick Links at the top right. Most often, you will enter the name of the journal you are looking for (not the name of the article itself). The E-Journal Finder will tell you whether the library has full-text electronic access to that journal, and for which years. The E-Journal Finder includes Lexis and Westlaw access.

Here is a selection of some of the most useful full-text databases for researching comparative constitutional law. There are others--check the E-Journal Finder to find out what's available.

Court Decisions

Keep in mind that in many countries, court decisions are not considered primary law and there may not be an official publication for decisions. For many countries, only the country's highest court will issue its decisions In these cases, periodical literature may be the best and only source for decisions. The strategies and sources below can help you get started.

  1. Search the online catalog using keyword searching such as "court and decisions and Canada".
  2. Check the sections on "Court Reports" for your country online in the Foreign Law Guide. This section will tell you whether the country issues official reports or if you must look in other sources, such as periodicals.
  3. Lexis and Westlaw contain summaries or full-text case law from selected countries. Consult their directories for more information.

Selected Titles

Selected Web Sites

Revised April 2007 (aeb)
Links revised August 2008 (RAS)

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