INTRODUCTION
The amount of electronic sources available in the areas of international
and foreign law is growing tremendously (especially on the Internet).
Not all sources are created equally and not all sources will fit the
needs of the researcher each time.
THE INTERNET
Locating Relevant Information
A good place to start your research is by consulting the page created
for international legal researchers by our library, Researching
International & Foreign Law. This page provides the researcher will
valuable research guides, internet resource collections,
and other useful information.
With so much information available on the Internet, how does one locate
the most relevant information? There are basically two types of tools
for locating information on the Web: catalogs (also referred to directories
or indices) and search engines.
Web Catalogs
Catalogs are individual Web sites that classify information into various
organizational schemes. Many common schemes are by document type, subject,
or source. Sometimes, if you are lucky, these catalogs provide not only
the Web address but also a descriptive annotation.
Search Engines
Eighty-five percent of Internet users rely on general search engines,
such as Alta Vista, Google, Yahoo!, etc., to locate relevant sites.
There is so much information on the Internet that you may need to use
search engines to locate relevant information. For a good comparison
of the major search engines, see Search Engine Comparison Chart. To keep
up with new issues involving search engines, see the Search
Engine Watch Web site.
- AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/
Babelfish
http://babelfish.altavista.com Altavista's site for translating
foreign language web pages.
- FINDLAW
http://www.findlaw.com/
- Google
http://www.google.com
- AlltheWeb
http://www.alltheweb.com
- Lycos
http://www.lycos.com
- LawCrawler
http://www.lawcrawler.com/
- Metacrawler
http://www.metacrawler.com/
- Yahoo (Government
- Law Links)
http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law
Issues with General Search Engines
A recent study of the major search engines done by Steve Lawrence and
C. Lee produced some interesting and thought-provoking information on
the effectiveness of these tools. The study concluded that search engines
only search about 16% of the indexed pages on the Web and all search
engines combined only search 42% of the publicly available Web. Some
of the major problems with search engines are worth noting: 1) general
search engines are often out of date (they do not reflect the current
state of the Web), 2) they retrieve too many irrelevant hits because
they do not necessarily index law-related Web sites, and 3) search engines
will usually index the most popular pages. Most of these search engines
generally do not include password-restricted pages, Web databases, or
proprietary files. This means that catalogs and search engines should
be used together to retrieve documents from the Web.
The Deep or Invisible Web
Considering the tremendous increase of Web databases, search engines
are not keeping pace with the growth of the Web, nor are they necessarily
pointing to the most important or reliable sites. The invisible or deep
Web is Internet content that, for the most part, is stored and organized
within a Web database where content is located through a direct search
query by the user. This includes both publicly available information
as well as fee-based. For an extensive listing of deep web articles, documents, search engines, and other information, see Deep Web Research 2005. A partial list of deep web search tools is below, see the article for more.
How to Evaluate What You Find on the Internet
There are many factors to consider when using the Internet for legal
research. When referring to the Internet, this usually included several
Internet protocols: email, gopher, FTP, and the web. For more on how
to evaluate a web site, see Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask. Also handy is this Web Page Evaluation Checklist in PDF.
- Think about what you are trying to find before you start searching
the web. Consider the type of document and the date of the document.
If it is an old or obscure document, you may be wasting your time
on the Internet.
- Some criteria to consider when evaluating what you find include:
Accuracy and quality of the data
While this can be difficult to determine, consider such
facts as the person or organization putting up the information,
is it based on a print product that can be checked for accuracy,
has the site been recommended by an information professional
or a legal expert? Also, when a facsimile image is provided
(something that looks like the printed page) along with the
text of the document, the accuracy of the content increases.
Completeness
Does the site provide the complete text, a summary, or an index
or abstract?
Coverage
What time period does the site cover? Most Web sites only provide
information going back a few years.
Timeliness
How often is the information updated or how often is new content
added?
Stability
Web site locations often change, they may be down due to high
volume or technical difficulties, or even disappear completely.
Moreover, the transient nature of the Internet means that documents
can be here today and gone tomorrow. That is why it is prudent
to download or print an important document.
Authority of the source
Is the source of the information reliable, is the content
authentic? Who is providing the information? Look for the official
source of the information, such as a government or an international
organization.
- In addition to factors related to the content, think about the
site's organization and navigability, how the documents are structured
and arranged, and whether there are tools for locating information
on the site.
- How accessible is the site, does it have a lot of graphics and
high-end technologies that delay access? Does the site have any
kind of archival or retention policy?
- Are there multiple levels of access? If you pay a fee, do you
get more or higher quality information?
- Not all Web sites provide information in multiple languages and
English language sites dominate the Web with 86.55% of the documents.
- There is no one place to get everything that the international
legal researcher needs.
- Remember, not everything on the web is free.
What's Missing
While the amount of information available on the Internet is rapidly
increasing, it does not have everything. Some of the things that are
missing include:
- comprehensive collections of commentary and analysis;
- national treaty collections;
- bilateral agreements;
- background materials;
- older documents;
- more obscure documents (documents with a limited distribution);
- complete runs of legislation and case law;
- state practice materials;
- legal reference tools;
- citations and not the full-text;
- most international legal sources on the Web do not include an authoritative
citation.
Finding More Relevant Sites (or how do I keep
up)
For more information on keeping up, see Keeping
Current with International Law Developments via the Web by Jill
Watson at the American Society of International Law.
- International Law
in Brief
http://www.asil.org/ilib/ilibarch.htm
- InSite
-- Law Site Reviews
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/insiteasp/archive/insite61.html.
A current awareness service of Cornell Law Library.
- The Scout Report. Announcements
of valuable web sites in general.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/index.html
Citing to Web Documents
It is important to give the essential information: author, title, the
location (the URL), and the date the source was last visited. See the
following sites for more information.
LEXIS AND WESTLAW
The advantage of these sources over the Internet is the quality of
the databases and the search capabilities. However, these databases
cannot offer the range of information that is available on the Internet.
Also, in the real world, the issue of cost is a big factor.
Lexis
Lexis offers much more in the way of foreign materials than Westlaw.
Click on search on the right hand side of the screen. Then enter
your Lexis id number in the top box and your last name under password.
Click on "sign on." In order to determine what is available
in the areas of foreign and international law, click on "Source
Directory." For international law, click on "area
of law by topic", and select "international law" or "international
trade." You can also search the "Source Directory."
For foreign law, select "Legal (excluding U.S.)." This
contains a list of the country files that actually contain legislation
or caselaw. Another category to check is "Country & Region
(excluding US)." A list of countries is available from there.
Just because a country is listed, does not mean there is much in the
way of legislation or caselaw. Once you have chosen a file,
be sure to click on the 
to determine what the file actually contains
and the scope of coverage. In order to get a sense of what is
available, you can also consult the Lexis 2000 Directory of Online
Services (in print or on the web).
Lexis contains cases and/or statutes for the following countries: Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China & Hong Kong, Commonwealth,
England & Wales, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa,
Spain and United Kingdom (includes Scotland). Some countries have a
good collection while others may be limited to a particular topic.
Lexis also has a good collection of international law documents, European
Union law and documents (this information is a bit dated), international
courts (European Court of Human Rights), international taxation, international
trade, and many news sources.
Westlaw
Westlaw is supposedly trying to beef up its coverage of international
and foreign law. From the web version, select "View
Database Directory" and click on go. In order to access the
international law materials, select "Topical Materials by Area
of Practice, including International," then select "International
Law." There is pretty good coverage of international agreements
(where the US is a party), tax treaties, GATT/WTO and NAFTA. There
are also GATT/WTO panel decisions, ICJ cases, international environmental
law documents, and some foreign law. In order to determine what
is contained in a particular file, click on 
to determine what the file actually contains and the scope of coverage..
You can also consult the Westlaw Database Directory (2000) (available
in print and on the web).
Westlaw has less in the way of foreign law than Lexis. From the Directory,
select "International/Worldwide Materials." Westlaw does have
some foreign law for Bermuda and Cayman Islands (insurance only), Commercial
laws of Eastern and Central Europe, Mexican commercial laws (English
and Spanish), some Russian legislation, the United Kingdom, and the
Vietnam Official Gazette (English). A recent addition is European Union
materials and many new commercial reporters. Westlaw does have a large
number of journals and newspapers which may be relevant for your country
or topic.
CD-ROMS
International Media Room
These databases are only available in International Media. The user
should be aware that most CD-ROMs run on different software and searching
can vary greatly. If you are interested in using one of these CD-ROMs,
please contact a reference librarian in the Wolff Library for assistance.
Titles include...
WEB DATABASES
The databases listed below
may only be accessed by the GULC community.
AccessUN Readex
United Nations Index provides to access to current
and retrospective (1956-2000) U.N. documents and publications
BNA Publications
Includes International Trade Reporter, WTO Reporter, International Environment
Reporter and other looseleaf services.
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.
Contemporary
Women's Issues
More than 1500 sources published by over 200 organizations
around the world. Coverage begins with sources from 1992 and expands
through the present with more than 150 periodicals in addition to non-periodical
source publications. Sources provide information dealing with women's
issues in over 190 nations.
Digital National
Security Archive
Contains more than 35,000 declassified primary
documents that led to policy decisions. Covers such areas as Afghanistan,
Berlin Crisis 1958-1962, Cuban Missile Crisis, El Salvador, Iran-Contra
Affair, etc.
EIU:
Economist Intelligence Unit
EIU provides analysis and forecasts of the political,
economic and business environment in more than 180 countries. Includes
reports on industries, country data (including economic indicators and
forecasts) and daily country analysis.
FirstSearch
(OCLC)
Access to over 70 online databases including WorldCat, OCLC NetFirst
and OCLC Union Lists of Periodicals.
Global
Legal Information Network (GLIN)
The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) is a database of laws, regulations,
and other complementary legal sources from various countries in the
Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. The basic elements of this database
are: (1) full texts of the documents in the official language of the
country of origin; (2) summaries or abstracts in English; and (3) thesauri
in English and in as many official languages as are represented in the
database. The summaries or abstracts are linked electronically to the
corresponding full texts.
Human
Rights Internet
The web site constitutes a document center and an online resource for
human rights materials the HRI has collected since 1976. The available
databases include Human Rights Awards, Directory of Funding Organizations,
Directory of Human Rights Organizations, Human Rights Publications,
Directory of Children's Rights Organizations, Directory of Human Rights
Educational Programs and the Internet Directory.
Index to Foreign
Legal Periodicals
Topical access to approximately 470 international
and comparative law periodicals and 26 collections of essays. Coverage
begins in 1985.
Indlaw.com
This database for the Republic of India features, among other primary sources and practice guides, Supreme Court judgments and other regional and local case law, Central Acts and Statutes of India (federal, 1883 - current), and commentary from practitioners, mostly in firms with a transnational practice who are interpreting the laws of India and some British or Commonwealth law as it relates to developing areas of the law in the South Asian context.
InterAm Database
Legal information pertaining to trade and investment
throughout the Americas. Includes primary sources (statutes, regulations,
technical standards, official gazettes, constitutions, case law and
treaties) and secondary sources (commentaries, law review articles and
analyses).
Legal
Journals Index
Indexes approximately 485 journals from the UK & Europe. Coverage is
from 1986 on. The print versions of this index (Legal Journals Index
and European Legal Journals Index) discontinued in 1999 and are available
at [INT'L REF KD59 .L43]. Legal Journals Index is also available on Westlaw.
Legal
Periodicals & Books
Contains citations from more than 820 legal periodicals from 1981 and
an index to law books published since 1993 from the United States, Canada,
Ireland, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Updated monthly.
The print edition covers 1908 on. Also Available in print at [Williams KF8 .I4] and on Lexis and Westlaw.
LegalTrac
Indexes approximately 800 legal publications from the United States,
Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. It also covers law
related articles from more than 1,000 additional business and general
interest periodicals. Coverage begins in 1980 and is updated monthly.
Also Available in print as Current Law Index at [Williams KF8
.C8] and on Lexis and Westlaw.
TIARA:US
Treaties and International Agreements
Select Oceana Online. Contains over 12000 treaties and agreements,
the earliest of which dates back to 1783. It also contains Senate Treaty
Documents from no. 96-1 through the current Congress, and the US Department
documents from DOS 86-1 to the present.
UKOP Online
(Catalogue of United Kingdom Official Publications)
The complete catalogue of United Kingdom official
publications from 1980 to the present, including both those published
by the Stationery Office (TSO) and departmental or "Non-Stationery
Office" publications.
United
Nations Treaty Collection
Collection includes 5 categories of treaty-related data. Status of multilateral
treaties deposited with the Secretary General, UN Treaty series, recently
deposited multilateral treaties, photographs of Treaty Signature ceremonies
and Titles of multilateral treaties in the official UN languages.
World News Connection
Successor to the Daily Reports from the FBIS and
the JPRS Reports provided through the NTIS. Contains the full text summaries
of non-U.S. newspaper articles, conference proceedings, radio and television
broadcasts, periodicals and non-classified technical reports.
World Trade Online
Immediate access to the latest in trade news.
Each day's complete issue of Inside U.S. Trade, plus retrospective
coverage going back 5 years. Also available: News from Around the World
and exclusive special reports.
WorldTradeLaw.net
From the main page, locate Dispute Settlement Commentary Subscriber
Log-in Area and select Subscriber's Main Page. Provides detailed
summaries and commentaries on WTO Panel and Appellate Body Reports.
Each document provides a basic summary of the panel's or Appellate Body's
legal findings and conclusions, a timeline, references to other reports
and materials, and expert analysis on many of the key issues in the
report. There is also access to the full text of the Panel and Appellate
Reports.
This guide was prepared by the staff of the John
Wolff International and Comparative Law Library at the Georgetown
University Law Center. If you need additional assistance, stop by the
reference desk of the library or contact us by phone or email or by filling out this online form.
Revised October
2005
