LEGAL DATABASES
Following is a list of online legal databases, both fee-based and free. Compared to U.S. legal research, very little is available online. Researchers will need to use a combination of these online resources and paper resources, as described in the section on Books.
African Law Databases available from the Diamond Law Library
The library subscribes to the following African law databases. Most of them can be accessed from our Electronic Resources Page.
Egyptian Legal Portal - Al-Bawabah al-qanuniyah
Librarian assistance required.
Tashreaat is an Egyptian legal database providing a complete reference to Egyptian legislation, rulings of the high courts (Supreme Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court) and related legal material from Egypt. User may also view the Egyptian Gazette, studies by prominent councils, lawyers? directory and legal news. Research is only available in Arabic. You may need to modify your display settings and change the screen resolution to 800x600 pixels to view the site.
Jutastat
Librarian assistance required.
This African database includes access to Constitutional Library, Juta's Daily Law Reports, Juta's Digest of South African Law, Jutastat's Statutes of South Africa, the South African Law Reports (1947-current), the Law Reports of Zimbabwe, Statutes of Zimbabwe, Botswana Law Reports, Tanzania Law Reports, Zambia Law Reports, and Namibian Law Reports. Available only with the assistance of librarians, researchers should go to the reference desk to use this database.
LawAfrica.com
Librarian assistance required.
This database includes case law from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Comesa Court of Justice. It is available with the assistance of librarians. Researchers should go to the reference desk to use this database.
Law in Ghana
Law School campus, or Law School affiliates only.
access from offsite
From DataCenta Ltd., this is a database of Ghana's legal material, including Ghana Law Reports, the Consolidated Statutes of Ghana and more.
Worldwide Legal Databases available from the Diamond Law Library
The library subscribes to the following worldwide law databases. Most of them can be accessed from our Electronic Resources Page.
Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World
This database provides information on sources of foreign law for most countries. It includes citations to legislation, references to translations when available, and select secondary sources. This database is commonly referred to as "Reynolds and Flores" (the names of the authors). Available from the law school campus only. Click on "Subscriber Login (IP Authentication.)"
Constitutions of the Countries of the World
Published by Oceana, this database includes the constitutions and related documents of 192 countries, and corresponds with their looseleaf set of the same name. Note that the 'print' option is located in the 'document details' section. Access is available by IP address from the Columbia Law School Campus. Only one user can use this database at a time, so please be sure to logoff of the database when you are finished with your search.
Lexis
Lexis has some useful African news databases in their Mideast/Africa Library (MDEAFR) and some legal material in their South Africa Library (SAFRCA).
Westlaw
Westlaw has some useful African news databases in their Sub-Saharan Africa section and their
Middle East and
North Africa section, but no legal databases.
Free African Legal Databases and Websites
Southern Africa Legal Information Institute
The Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) collects and publishes legal materials from Southern and Eastern Africa for free online access. The current collection includes superior court judgments from Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Uganda. Retrospective collection for all superior courts in these countries is ongoing. The database includes cases in preparation for publishing from Mauritius, Swaziland and Tanzania.
JurisAfrica
JurisAfrica is an online law reporting service, the property of Africa Law Reporter Online. They intend to publish judgments of the superior courts of African countries and have some onilne already. It also includes constitutions, statutes and legal news.
DroitFrancophone
Provides links to legal databases for Francophone countries, including Africa. Links are to both free and fee-based databases.
NTIPO Nouveau Portail
Designed to be a portal to African law online, it has begun with a few countries: the Congo, Djibouti, Mauritania and Niger.
Investir en Zone Franc
Includes some laws from francophone Africa.
International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region
Includes some laws from the Great Lakes region.
Free Global Law Databases and Websites
QuickLawAmerica (from Lexis/Nexis)
This Canadian Legal Database provides access to some African law as well. Currently it includes law of , and . Academic users can apply for a free password to this database. Instructions are available here. Unfortunately, most of the African databases are no longer being updated. They can still be used for historical research.
World Legal Information Institute.
Provides links to law online. See their Africa Page.
Guide to Law Online from the Library of Congress.
Links to international resources and resources by country. For researchers without access to commercial databases, it also provides a useful list of free Law Reviews Online.
Human and Constitutional Rights Web Site.
Links to national web links and hot topics.
Law by Subject
Finding Foreign Law Resources on the Internet
A Columbia Law School Library guide to mega web sites that provide access to foreign law by subject.
