Foreign law refers to the laws of countries other than one's own. International law is the body of rights and obligations, arising from treaties and other sources, between two or more countries or international organizations. To find an overview of any country's system of laws and where they are published use GMUSL's electronic Foreign Law Guide.

Reference Books:

• Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to International Law, by Peter Malanczuk. Electronic book.
• The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America, by John Merryman and Rogelio Perez-Perdomo.  REFERENCE K585 .M467 2007.
• Dictionary of International and Comparative Law, by James R. Fox. REFERENCE KZ1161 .F69 2003.
• Dictionary of International Trade Law, by Raj Bhala. REFERENCE K3943 .B488 2008.
• Directory of Foreign Law Collections in Selected Law Libraries, edited by Ellen G. Schaffer and Thomas R. Bruce. REFERENCE K68 .D565 1991.
• Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, edited by Jan M. Smits. REFERENCE K48 .E42 2006.
• Encyclopedia of Public International Law, REFERENCE KZ1160 .E53.
• Germain’s Transnational Law Research: A Guide for Attorneys, by Claire M. Germain. REFERENCE K85 .G47.
• Guide to International Legal Research. REFERENCE KZ1234 .G85 2010.
• Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems, edited by Richard A. Danner and Marie-Louise H. Bernal. REFERENCE K583 .I57 1994.
• Legal Research Methods in a Modern World: A Coursebook, by Lomio, Spang-Hanssen & Wilson. REFERENCE K85 .L66 2011.
• Legal Research Methods in the U.S. and Europe, by J. Paul Lomio. REFERENCE K85 .L66 2008.
• Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia, edited by Kenneth R. Redden.  REFERENCE K530 .M62.
• Parry and Grant Encyclopedia Dictionary of International Law, edited by John P. Grant and J. Craig barker. REFERENCE KZ1161 .P37 2009 and Online. 
• Restatement (third) of The Foreign Relations of the United States. REFERENCE KF395 .A2 F6 RANGE 107. Lexis INTLAW FORREL, Westlaw REST-FOREL.
• WTO Analytical Index : Guide to WTO Law and Practice. REFERENCE K4602.2 2003.

Language Dictionaries:

The Reference collection on the first floor has many foreign language dictionaries in the PA-PG call number range and many foriegn language law dictionaries in the K52 call number range.

Foreign and International Law Sources:

• Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) Working Papers, International Relations Research Journals. 1991-
• Constitutions of the World, by Robert L. Maddex. ARLINGTON K3165 .M33 2008, and Online.
• Digest of Commercial Laws of the World, edited by Lester Nelson. K1005.4 .D54.
• Foriegn Law Guide, describes the legal structure, where legal materials are published, and whether English translations are available for the laws of each of over 178 countries in the database. Click on "Subscriber Login" to access the database.
• HeinOnline Foreign & International Law Resources Database
• International Legal Materials, published by American Society of International Law. K9 .N661 electronic version through HeinOnline International and Non-U.S. Law Journals
• Making of Modern Law 1800-1926 and Eighteenth Century Collections Online have electronic versions of books such as Ancient Law, by Henry Sumner Maine 1864 and Compilation of Spanish and Mexican law in relation to mines, by John A. Rockwell 1851.
• Oxford Investment Claims, investment awards, treaties, and treatises related to international investment arbitration.
• Oxford Reports on Inernational Law, important decisions of public internation law from international, domestic, and ad hoc courts.
• Public Affains Information Service (PAIS) 1972- , index to periodicals, books, reports, and government information published in English from around the world.
• World Arbitration Reporter, international treaties, national legislation form over 135 countries, and international and national rules of procedure related to arbitration.  

Foreign and International Law Sources:

• Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) Working Papers, International Relations Research Journals. 1991-
• Constitutions of the World, by Robert L. Maddex. ARLINGTON K3165 .M33 2008.
• Digest of Commercial Laws of the World, edited by Lester Nelson. K1005.4 .D54.
• HeinOnline Foreign & International Law Resources Database
• International Legal Materials, published by American Society of International Law. K9 .N661 electronic version through HeinOnline International and Non-U.S. Law Journals
• Making of Modern Law 1800-1926 and Eighteenth Century Collections Online have electronic versions of books such as Ancient Law, by Henry Sumner Maine 1864 and Compilation of Spanish and Mexican law in relation to mines, by John A. Rockwell 1851.
• Public Affains Information Service (PAIS) 1972- , Index to periodicals, books, reports, and government information in English from around the world.
• World Arbitration Reporter K2400 .W67 and Online (Access to only law school faculty, students and staff. Please see a reference librarian for the database password). The Reporter contains treaties, legislation from over 135 countries, and procedural rules for international and national tribunals relating to arbitration.

English Translations:

Finding English translations of foreign laws is most often very difficult. The Law Library of Congress has this helpful guide to finding National Legislation translated into English. Countries included in the guide currently include: Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, and Russia.

Journals:

• BNA International:
  • International Business & Finance Daily
  • International Environment Reporter
  • International Tax Monitor
  • International Trade Daily
  • International Trade Reporter
• HeinOnline International and Non-U.S. Law Journals
• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals — Electronic database provides indexing of legal literature worldwide since 1985, covering all forms of foriegn (non-Anglo-American) law. 
• Index to Legal Periodicals and Books — Electronic database provides indexing of legal periodicals and books from 1908, full-text for more recent articles.

Treaties-United States:

• United States Treaty Index 1776-, edited by Igor I. Kravass. REFERENCE KZ235 .U58.
• Congressional LexisNexis use index term "Treaties and conventions"
• HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library, includes all State Department sources of U.S. treaties in addition to other helpful treaty information.
• Rhoades & Langer U.S. International Taxation and Tax Treaties, by Rufus von Thulen Rhoades and Marshall J. Langer. KF6306 .R48.
• Senate Treaty Documents from the 90th Congress, 1967- Thomas.
• Treaties in Force Electronic database has a list of treaties and other international agreements of the United States in force through the current year. REFERENCE JX235.9 A33.
• Treaties Pending in the Senate, State Department's list of pending treaties (lags in updates by up to a year).
• United States Treaties and Other International Acts Series, State Department's publication of United States treaties. 

Treaties-Multilateral:

• Basic Documents of International Economic Law, edited by Stephen Zamora and Ronald A. Brand. K3820 .A35 B37.
• Basic Documents in International Law, edited by Ian Brownlie. KZ64 .B37 2002.
• Consolidated Treaty Series, edited by Clive Parry. JX120 .P35.
• League of Nations Treaty Series. JX179 .L4 Law Library Archives.
• United Nations Treaty Collection electronic resource.
• United Nations Treaty Series Microfilm, vol. 1-800, Cabinet 38-39; vol. 984- (1975-), Cabinet 24. Volumes 801-1307 (1971-1983) available in print in the Law Library Archives. 

Lexis:

In the Legal Search tab, you can find a link under "Area of Law by Topic" for both "Foreign Laws and Legal Services" and "International Law." Lexis provides European Union documents, documents of the International Court of Justice, and other international materials. It provides a good amount of Canadian, UK, and Mexican legal materials. 

Westlaw:

Under the Directory link at the top, Westlaw has an International/Wordwide Materials section where you can find international and foreign legal materials.  ENFLEX database has environmental, health, and safety regulations of Mexico, Spain, Brazil, France, the EU, and the UK. Westlaw has material from the International Chamber of Commerce, American Arbitration Association International, and International Commercial Arbitration, among others.

Other Online Resources:

Many free websites offer international legal information.  

• Council of Europe The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its 46 member states.
• Dag Hammarskjold Library, United Nations library.
• EISIL, developed by the American Society of International Law to assist in locating high quality primary materials, authoritative websites, and research guides to international law on the internet.
• EUR-Lex, provides free, online access to European Union law and documents in all languages of the EU countries.
• Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) is a public database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations. 
• International Court of Justice (ICJ), news, decisions, and documents of cases heard by the ICJ.
• United Nations Official Documents System (ODS), provides UN documents since 1993.
• World Legal Information Institute, free independent and non-profit access to worldwide law from 123 countries and territories.