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Cornell Library at Vermont Law & Graduate School

Comparative and International Environmental Law Research, Spring 2025: Research Strategies

Where to Start?

When you approach a research topic on foreign or comparative law, your first step should be to use secondary sources to acquaint yourself with the characteristics of a foreign legal system or comparative law sources and methods.

Secondary sources provide commentary on a legal issue, put the legal issue in context, and provide a summary of the relevant legal documentation.

The biggest benefit of using a secondary source for foreign and comparative research is that it will lead you to primary sources that you almost certainly would otherwise miss (unless you're already very familiar with the country's legal system and the types and relative weight of its laws). It will also help you understand the significance of the laws you find.

For international law, secondary sources will help you identify the legal framework for an issue, learn the pertinent terminology, and discover which documents you need to look for.

Steps for Foreign Legal Research

1. Identify what you need

  • Do you need a constitution, a specific statute, a case, or general information?
  • Do you have a citation to the law, case, etc.?
  • What are the dates? For those things that can be amended, such as legislation or a constitution, do you need today's version or a prior version?
  • Do you need the complete text of the law, a summary, an English translation, or a detailed explanation?

 

2. Understand the structure of the foreign legal system

  • Do you know what legal system is in place? Is it a civil (code-based) legal system, a common law system (such as the United States), a religious or customary legal system, or a combination of two or more of these? Check the CIA World Factbook's List of Legal Systems or JuriGlobe to find out.
  • To put the country's laws in context, it's important to know the basics of the legal system. It's also useful to have general background information on the country. The Foreign Law Guide has great summaries for many (but not all) jurisdictions. The country guides from GlobaLex Foreign Law Research also provide context and background about the legal system for most countries of the world.

 

3. Identify the sources of law for the country

  • Does the country publish codes; compilations of statutes; an official journal of laws, decrees, and regulations; and/or reporters?
  • The Foreign Law Guide offers lists of sources for many (but not all) jurisdictions and provides citations to major legislation on a variety of topics.
  • The country guides from GlobaLex Foreign Law Research often contain details about a country's legal sources and who produces them. 
  • The Law Library of Congress's Guide to Law Online: Nations of the World provides links to the best sources for different types of law.

 

4. Use a legal research guide whenever possible!

  • You can find general foreign/international legal research guides along with topical and country-specific guides.
  • This guide has a section listing different kinds of research guides.
  • See the VLGS research guide list for other sources (such as our International & Foreign Law guide).
  • Run a Google search (or whichever search engine you prefer) for [name of country] legal research guide; e.g., Armenia legal research guide.

 

5. Use a secondary source

  • A secondary source, such as a journal article or a book, can help you at any stage of your research.
  • Secondary sources may describe the law or legal issue, provide citations, or include commentary. See the section on Books and Subscription Databases in this guide for more help.

 

Credit: Slightly adapted from Georgetown Law Library's Foreign and Comparative Law research guide. Source: https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=362128&p=2445998

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