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Foreign Law: How to Find It: Library Holdings

Tips for finding primary sources from foreign countries.

By Country

Go to the Library Catalog. You can search by keyword, subject, or call number. The Library has a large collection of materials from around the world. While some regions have more coverage than others, there are at least some materials from almost every country so give it a look. This often includes documents in the original language and English translations. 

The Library organizes call numbers according to the Library of Congress classification system. You can find the call numbers for every country in the world here (click link to download PDF). 

By Subject

Some legal materials will be reproduced in collections with other legal materials. These could be classified under the general region or under the legal subject so it makes it more difficult to find a specific document. Please see a reference librarian should you need assistance. You may want to try the advanced search so you can try different search options. 

A few useful examples from the law library's print collection include include:

These types of books are particularly prevalent in European Community/Union materials regarding areas of the law that are subject to, or potentially subject to, harmonization of national laws. We have many of these materials in the Library, and they can be found online in many potential places: EUR-Lex (access to EU law), EU Bookshop (includes free research materials), and the Archive of European Integration