JUMPSTART YOUR FOREIGN, COMPARATIVE, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW RESEARCH
Looking for help? Our list of specialists for Jurisdiction/Region, Language and Topic willing to help answer FCIL research questions is available below! (Login with your AALL username and password to access contact information.)
Updated in 2023 by the Electronic Research IG: Erin Gow, Lucie Olejnikova, and Sherry Xin Chen.
Previous versions include the 1993 List of Foreign and International Law Librarians Who Have Expressed a Willingness to Help Non-Experts by Daniel Wade, FCIL Newsletter, at 19-28 (February 1993); the Jumpstart Your Foreign, Comparative, and International Research by Lyonette Louis Jacques & Mary Rumsey (December 2010); and Jumpstart Your Foreign, Comparative, and International Research by the Electronic Research IG (2016 Update).
Researching foreign and international law topics can be difficult and complicated. Whether an experienced researcher or a beginner, we all get stumped from time to time. Luckily, there are many print, subscription, and online resources that can help.
One place to start is your library. Check your library’s print and electronic holdings, including for example International Legal Research in a Global Community by Heidi Frostestad Kuehl and Megan A. O’Brien (2018); Sources of State Practice in International Law (2d ed., Ralph Gaebler & Alison Shea eds. 2014); Marci Hoffman and Mary Rumsey’s International and Foreign Legal Research: A Course Book (2d ed. 2012); Brill’s Foreign Law Guide, a subscription electronic database, organized by country that explains foreign countries’ legal systems and lists legal bibliography; or the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP), also a subscription electronic database offering access to one of the largest collections of international and foreign law periodicals.
In addition, consult some of the open access resources. Start with GlobaLex, published by Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law. It is an open access electronic legal publication that offers an extensive collection of up-to-date articles on international, foreign, and comparative law research. You may also consult ASIL’s Electronic Resource Guide for International Law (ERG), a collection of legal research articles (available in PDF) on selected international topics. The Law Library of Congress maintains an open access Guide to Law Online, which is an annotated guide to sources of information on government and law, including international and multinational law, as well as nations of the world.
If none of these sources provided the solution to a difficult research question, it’s time to consult our list of specialists in a variety of foreign, international, and comparative law topics. The FCIL-SIS Specialists List (below) is an extensive directory of legal research scholars organized by foreign or international law topic and jurisdiction. You may contact anyone on the list for help in his/her respective specialty. These research scholars are up to date on print and electronic FCIL resources, some have foreign language skills, and many teach research methods in international, foreign, and comparative law.
To access an even wider group of foreign and international legal scholars, you may consider posting your question to one of the many Online Discussion Forums dedicated to global exchange and cooperation. It may also be worth checking the DipLawMatic Dialogues Blog, administered by the members of FCIL-SIS, where contributors share resources, strategies, and approaches to variety of research topics. At the very least you should feel free to consult your local law library (academic, law firm, court, or county) where a reference librarian can point you in the right direction.
List of FCIL-SIS Specialists
This list is organized by Jurisdiction/Region and Topic. For individual contact information, check the FCIL Specialist Contact List (login with your AALL username and password). Also, please see the members and contact information for the variety of FCIL Committees and Interest Groups.
Africa | Yemisi Dina, Mariya Badeva-Bright, Victor Essien |
Argentina | Gloria Orrego Hoyos |
Austria | Jennifer Allison |
Bahamas | R. Martin Witt |
Belgium | Gabriela Femenia |
Bulgaria | Mariya Badeva-Bright |
Canada | Marylin Raisch, Kim Nayyer, Susan Goard |
Caribbean | Marcelo Rodriguez, R. Martin Witt |
Chile | Gabriela Femenia, Julienne Grant |
China (PRC) | Sherry Xin Chen, Hans Herzl-Betz ,Robert Hu, Wei Luo, Evelyn Ma, Roy Sturgeon, Alex Zhang, Nongji Zhang |
Chinese Intellectual Property Law | Robert Hu |
Chinese Language | Sherry Xin Chen, Hans Herzl-Betz, Robert Hu, Alex Zhang |
Collection Development | Marci Hoffman, Marylin Raisch, Gabriela Femenia, Kim Nayyer |
Comparative Constitutional Law | Marylin Raisch, Janet Kearney, Gabriela Femenia, Julienne Grant, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Amy Flick |
Comparative Criminal Procedure | Lyonette Louis-Jacques |
Comparative Law | Marci Hoffman, Marylin Raisch, Janet Kearney, Catherine Deane |
Council of Europe | Charles Bjork, Marcelo Rodriguez, Erin Gow, Stéphane Cottin, James Hart |
Cuba | Julienne Grant |
Customary Legal Systems | Susan Gualtier, Marylin Raisch |
Czech Republic & Czech Language | Lucie Olejnikova |
Denmark & Danish Language | Anne Mostad-Jensen |
Dominican Republic | Marisol Floren-Romero |
English Translations | Marci Hoffman, Lyonette Louis-Jacques |
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) | Kristina Alayan, Charles Bjork, Marcelo Rodriguez, Erin Gow, Stéphane Cottin, Lesley Dingle, James Hart |
European Union | Alison Shea, Janet Kearney, Charles Bjork, Marcelo Rodriguez, Erin Gow |
Foreign Intellectual Property Law | Gabriela Femenia, Kim Nayyer, Jonathan Franklin |
Foreign Law | Kristina Alayan, Marci Hoffman, Marylin Raisch, Jean Wenger, Catherine Deane, Trezlen Drake |
Foreign & International Legal History | Marylin Raisch, Janet Kearney, Roy Sturgeon, Gabriela Femenia |
Foreign Official Gazettes | Center for Research Libraries (CRL), Stéphane Cottin |
France | Kristina Alayan, Stéphane Cottin |
French Language | Marcelo Rodriguez, Jootaek (Juice) Lee |
German Language | Jennifer Allison, Saskia Mehlhorn |
Germany | Kristina Alayan, Jennifer Allison, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Saskia Mehlhorn |
Ghana | Victor Essien |
Haiti | Marisol Floren-Romero |
Haitian Creole | Lyonette Louis-Jacques |
Hong Kong (China) | Roy Sturgeon, Alex Zhang, Wei Luo, Evelyn Ma |
Inter-American Human Rights | Marcelo Rodriguez, Gloria Orrego Hoyos |
International Bankruptcy & Insolvency | Amy Flick |
International Commercial Arbitration | Charles Bjork, Clement Lin, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Lucie Olejnikova, Loren Turner |
International Criminal Court | Lucie Olejnikova, Roy Sturgeon, Marcelo Rodriguez, Susan Goard |
International Criminal Law | Paul Moorman, Lucie Olejnikova, Roy Sturgeon, Marcelo Rodriguez, Andrew Dorchak |
International Criminal Tribunals | Lucie Olejnikova, Roy Sturgeon, Charles Bjork, Marcelo Rodriguez |
International Economic Law | Charles Bjork, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Jean Wenger |
International Environmental Law | Heidi Kuehl, Gabriela Femenia, Anne Burnett |
International Human Rights | Kristina Alayan, Marci Hoffman, Marylin Raisch, Loren Turner, Janet Kearney, Charles Bjork, Nina Cascio, James Hart, Lyonette Louis-Jacques |
International Humanitarian Law & Law of War | Amy Flick, Clement Lin, Marylin Raisch, Loren Turner |
International Immigration & Refugee Law | Marci Hoffman, Loren Turner, Wei Luo |
International Intellectual Property Law | Gabriela Femenia, Jonathan Franklin, Dennis Kim-Prieto, Catherine Deane |
International Internet Law | Hunter Whaley |
International Law | Marylin Raisch, Loren Turner, Gabriela Femenia, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Catherine Deane, Trezlen Drake |
International Space Law | Clement Lin |
International Trade Law | Charles Bjork |
Islamic Law (for Southeast Asia) | Clement Lin |
Ireland | Alison Shea, Janet Kearney |
Jamaica | R. Martin Witt |
Japan | Hans Herzl-Betz, Wei Luo |
Kenya | Victor Essien |
Korea & Korean Language | Jootaek (Juice) Lee |
Latin America | Marcelo Rodriguez, Julienne Grant |
Latin Language | James Hart |
League of Nations | Gabriela Femenia |
Legal Dictionaries | Dennis Kim-Prieto |
Malaysia | Clement Lin |
Mexico | Gabriela Femenia, Jonathan Pratter |
Nigeria | Yemisi Dina, Victor Essien |
Northern Ireland | Alison Shea, Loren Turner |
Pacific Island Legal Systems | Vicki Szymczak |
Pakistan | Omar Sial |
Portugal | Teresa Miguel-Stearns |
Qatar | Darla Jackson |
Roman Law | Marylin Raisch, James Hart |
Romania | Radu Popa |
Saudi Arabia | Darla Jackson |
Sexuality, Gender & Law | Lyonette Louis-Jacques |
Singapore | Clement Lin |
Slovakia & Slovakian Language | Lucie Olejnikova |
Spain | Teresa Miguel-Stearns |
Spanish Language Jurisdictions | Marcelo Rodriguez, Marisol Floren-Romero, Dennis Kim-Prieto, Gloria Orrego Hoyos |
Spanish Language | Gabriela Femenia, Marcelo Rodriguez, Dennis Kim-Prieto, Gloria Orrego Hoyos |
Switzerland | Jennifer Allison, Saskia Mehlhorn |
Taiwan | Alex Zhang, Wei Luo, Evelyn Ma, Nongji Zhang |
Treaty Research | Charles Bjork, Marci Hoffman, Janet Kearney, Lucie Olejnikova, Marylin Raisch, Roy Sturgeon |
United Kingdom (UK) | Marylin Raisch, Alison Shea, Janet Kearney, Charles Bjork, Gabriela Femenia, Erin Gow, Joanne Armstrong, Lesley Dingle (especially UK Constitutional Law) |
United Nations (UN) | Marylin Raisch, Susan Kurtas, Susan Goard |
War Crimes | Lucie Olejnikova, Andrew Dorchak |