Category «Comparative/Foreign Law»

Global Skills for U.S. JD Students

This article by Theresa Kaiser-Jarvis, Assistant Dean for International Affairs, University of Michigan Law School, discusses a pivotal issue that represents an increasingly significant development in the practice of law in the United States. Kaiser-Jarvis shines a bright light on the skills, knowledge and abilities that are now required of attorneys as the business world becomes less focused on the United States. She supports the position that as law firms search for new revenue streams and as American internal demographics become more diverse, we can expect that all U.S. lawyers will eventually need to be prepared for global practice.

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Subjects: Business Research, Comparative/Foreign Law, Competitive Intelligence, International Legal Research, Job Hunting, Legal Education, Legal Profession, Legal Research

World leading online privacy law library gets big increase in capacity

The International Privacy Law Library on WorldLII has been expanded. The Library’s 32 databases include about 3,600 decisions of 13 privacy and data protection authorities, from New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, Korea, Macau, Mauritius, the United States and the European Union.

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Subjects: Comparative/Foreign Law, Features, Government Resources, Law Librarians, Legal Research, Legal Research Training, Legal Technology, Library Marketing, Library Software & Technology, Portals, Privacy

Researching Australian Law

Nicholas Pengelley and Sue Milne have revised, updated and expanded their guide which covers a comprehensive range of sources on topics that include: Parliaments and Laws; Finding Australian Legislation; Courts and Judgments; Finding Australian Cases; Treaties; Journal Literature; Legal Encyclopedias; Law Reform; Government Information; Dictionaries; Directories; Legal Research Guides; Publishers; Current Awareness; Discussion Lists; and Major Texts.

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Subjects: Comparative/Foreign Law, Court Resources, Features, Government Resources, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Legislative

A User Guide to the Marrakesh Treaty

Jonathan Band provides a comprehensive guide to the recent international adoption of the “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.” The Treaty is intended to promote the making and distribution of copies of books and other published materials in formats accessible to people with print disabilities. The Treaty would achieve this objective by obligating signatory countries (referred to as Contracting Parties) to adopt exceptions in their copyright laws that permit the making of copies in accessible formats as well as the distribution of those copies both domestically and internationally. This memorandum explains the Treaty’s provisions. The memorandum concludes that Title 17 of the United States Code complies with the Treaty’s requirements, and thus that the United States could sign and ratify the Treaty without making any changes to domestic law.

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Subjects: Copyright, Features, Government Resources, Intellectual Property, International Legal Research, Law Librarians, Libraries & Librarians, United States Law

Introducing the Central Library of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and of the European Council

Carlo Marzocchi Head of Sector, Library & Information Service shared this announcement on the resources of Central Library Council of the European Union. The Council of the European Union is the European Union institution where the Member States’ ministers responsible for specific areas (e.g. finance, health, education) meet to discuss issues of common concern within their countries. The European Council consists of the Heads of State, or Government, of the Member States, together with the President of the Council and the President of the Commission. The European Council provides the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and defines its general political directions and priorities. It does not exercise legislative functions. The administrative support to both institutions is ensured by the General Secretariat of the Council or GSC. The Central Library holds over 100,000 monographs and EU publications. Newspapers and periodicals from EU Member States are available in the reading room. The Official Journal of the European Communities is available on paper, on microfiche (until 1997), on CD-ROM (from 1998 on) and via internet.

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Subjects: Comparative/Foreign Law, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Services

The FLARE Index to Treaties Extended

The FLARE Index to Treaties (FIT), launched in March 2009 on the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies web server has been extended to cover about a third more treaties and conventions. In the past two years the Index has established itself as a valuable finding tool for the international lawyer. It is a fully searchable database now indexing and listing over 2,000 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1353 onwards and a number of significant bilateral treaties signed between 1353 and 1815. This article, by Steven Whittle and Peter Clinch describes the background to the extension and technical aspects of the updated implementation employed to deliver new content and finding features.

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Subjects: Comparative/Foreign Law, Features, Government Resources, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Treaties & Agreements

Postcard from Vienna: The Vis Moot and the Triumph of Foreign and International Law

Nicholas Pengelley vibrantly documents, with accompanying photos, his latest experiences as evaluator of written memoranda, arbitrator at oral arguments, and sometime team coach at the Vis Moot, in which he has participated for a decade. The moot, which always takes place in the week leading up to Easter, is held in Vienna because of its associations with the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”). This is the law of the contract for all of the moot problems, which always involve a contractual sale of goods dispute between parties from two different countries.

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Subjects: Communication Skills, Comparative/Foreign Law, Features, International Legal Research, Legal Profession, Legal Research

FIT for Purpose The New FLARE Index to Treaties

Dr. Peter Clinch and Steven Whittle describe the background development, various ways in which the service can be used, and technical issues of this fully searchable database. Launched in March 2009, it indexes and lists over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1856 onwards. It was conceived to fill a gap in the range of information finding tools available on the internet for the international lawyer.

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Subjects: Features, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Treaties & Agreements

Researching Australian Law

This comprehensive guide by Nicholas Pengelley and Sue Milne includes primary and secondary research resources in the following areas: Parliaments and Laws, Finding Australian Legislation, Finding Australian Cases, Treaties, Journal Literature, Legal Encyclopedias, Law Reform, Government Information, Dictionaries, Directories, Legal Research Guides, Publishers, Current Awareness, Discussion Lists, Information Brokerage and Major Texts.

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Subjects: Government Resources, International Legal Research

Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web

This updated research guide by Elisa Mason directs readers to some of the key texts and resources available on the Web that can help shed light on, and provide a context for, many of the issues currently being deliberated in the refugee law arena. The guide covers international and regional instruments, human rights and humanitarian law, international bodies (especially the UNHCR), national legislation, case law, and periodicals.

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Subjects: Features, Human Rights, International Legal Research, Refugees
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