Law Librarian Blog

New and Updated Foreign and International Law Research Guides from GlobaLex

New Research Guides

• Introduction to the Norms and Institutions of the African Union by Girmachew Alemu Aneme
• Constitutional Law and Courts’ System in the Syrian Arab Republic by Khalil Mechantaf

Updated Guides

• A Basic Guide to International Environmental Legal Research by Heidi Frostestad Kuehl
• A Guide to Online Research Resources for the Australian Federal Legal System with some Reference to the State Level by Petal Kinder
• Guide to Georgian Legal Research by Irma Aladashvili; Update by Anna V. Dolidze
• Guide to Legal Research in Honduras by José Miguel Álvarez and Jessica Ramos; Update by Jessica Ramos
• The Law and Legal Research in Lesotho by Buhle Angelo Dube
• Libya’s Legal System and Legal Research by John L. S. Simpkins
• Guide to Russian Federation Law in English: Selection of Sources by Lucy Cox

More articles on international, comparative, and foreign law research from the best Web resource of its kind on the Internet are available at GlobaLex. [JH]

12/10/2010: Human Rights Day Promotes Defenders Who Act to End Discrimination

The UN's annual Human Rights Day honors the General Assembly of the United Nations adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. The theme for Human Rights Day 2010 is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination. From the announcement:

Human Rights Day 2010 will highlight and promote the achievements of human rights defenders and it will again emphasize the primary responsibility Governments have to enable and protect their role. The Day is also intended to inspire a new generation of defenders to speak up and take action to end discrimination in all of its forms whenever and wherever it is manifested.

[JH]

An Introduction to Trade Law: Selected International Agreements and U.S. Laws

From the summary of the CRS report Trade Law: An Introduction to Selected International Agreements and U.S. Laws (R41306, dated June 29, 2010):

U.S. trade obligations derive from international trade agreements, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the other World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, and additional bilateral and regional trade agreements, as well as domestic laws intended to implement those agreements or effectuate U.S. trade policy goals. This report provides an overview of both sources of U.S. trade obligations, focusing on a select group of agreements, provisions, and statutes that are most commonly implicated by U.S. trade interests and policy.

Among the federal agencies and entities discussed are the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the International Trade Administration (ITA), the International Trade Commission (ITC), the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the United States Court of International Trade (CIT). This report is not intended as a comprehensive review of trade law. It is an introductory overview of the legal framework governing trade-related measures. The agreements and laws selected for discussion are those most commonly implicated by U.S. trade interests, but there are U.S. trade obligations beyond those reviewed in this report.

[JH]

New and Updated Research Guides from GlobaLex

The long-term and consistently excellent new and update research guides from GlobaLex is simply amazing considering how web resources come and go. Here's the lastest.

New Research Guides:

• The Inter-American System of Human Rights: A Research Guide by Cecilia Cristina Naddeo
• Introduction to the Ethiopian Legal System and Legal Research by Girmachew Alemu Aneme

Update Guides:

• The Legal System and Research of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): An Overview by Dunia Zongwe, François Butedi and Phebe Mavungu Clément
• Alternative Dispute Resolution in Pakistan by Salman Ravala
• An Overview of Polish Law by Piotr Rakowski and Robert Rybicki. Update by Piotr Rakowski
• Guide to Tanzanian Legal System and Legal Research by Bahame Tom Nyanduga and Christabel Manning; Update by Christabel Manning and Seka Kasera

[JH]

World Legal Information Institute Launches What May Be the Most Comprehensive International Law Library

A big hat tip to Cocky Law Blawg for calling attention to the World LII's International Law Library. The International Law Library has been developed with the assistance of all LIIs whose databases are searchable via WorldLII. The International Law Library includes both the International Treaties Collection and the International Courts and Tribunals Collection. It may be the most comprehensive free-access resource of its kind. See the site's About Page, brochure and press release for more. [JH]

New and Updated GlobaLex Research Guides

New:

• The Legal System and Research in the Sultanate of Oman by Khalil Mechantaf

Updated:

• Introduction to Public International Law Research by Vicenç Feliú
• The Exploitation of Women and Children: A Comparative Study of Human Trafficking Laws between the United States-Mexico and China-Vietnam by Christina T. Le
• Vietnam Legal Research by Anh Luu

Where would we be without GlobaLex? More articles on international, comparative, and foreign law research available on GlobaLex. [JH]

New and Updated Research Guides from GlobaLex

New Research Guide

• A Guide to United Arab Emirates Legal System by Ahmed Aly Khedr & Bassam Alnuaimi

Updated Research Guides

• A Legal Research Guide to Armenia by Sergey Arakelyan and Anna Margaryan
• A Research Guide to the Legal System of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh by Omar Sial and Md. Ershadul Karim
• An Introduction to Colombian Governmental Institutions and Primary Legal Sources by Antonio Ramirez
• A Guide to India’s Legal Research and Legal System by Dr. Rakesh Kumar Srivastava

More articles on international, comparative, and foreign law research at GlobaLex. [JH]

New and Updated Research Guides from GlobaLex

New research guides published by GlobaLex:

A Research Guide and a Bibliography for Korean Legal Resources in English by Jootaek (Juice) Lee

Global Warming: A Comparative Guide to the E.U. and the U.S. and Their Approaches to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol by Deborah Paulus-Jagric

Updated guides:

Essential Issues of the Chilean Legal System By Sergio Endress Gómez;  Update by Fernando J.Fernández-Acevedo and Radoslav Depolo

Canon Law Research Guide by Don Ford

European Union: A Guide to Tracing Working Documents by Patrick Overy

[JH]

Draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Officially Released

Negotiators for Australia, Canada, the European Union countries, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States finally released a consolidated draft text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (dated April 2010) to the public yesterday after a version dated Jan. 18, 2010 had been leaked in March. For background, see the Wikipedia entry.

From Nate Anderson's Art Technica post, ACTA arrives (still bad, but a tiny bit better):

Though billed as a "trade agreement" about "counterfeiting," ACTA is much more than that: it's an intellectual property treaty in disguise. Tucked inside the draft are provisions that will prevent people from bypassing digital locks on the items they buy, that will force ISPs to shoulder more of the burden in the fight against online piracy, and that bring US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules to the world.

From Rob Pegoraro's Washington Post Fast Forward blog post:

This proposed agreement is what I thought it was: an intellectual-property land grab that would cement some of the uglier aspects of American law, export those provisions to other countries, possibly import even worse provisions back into the U.S. and, in the bargain, spawn a new and largely redundant international bureaucracy.

[JH]

New and Updated GlobaLex Research Guides

Published this month by GlobaLex.

New Research Guide:

• The Constitutional Law and the Legal System of the Kingdom of Bahrain by Khalil Mechantaf

Updated Guides:

• Basic Information and Online Sources for NAFTA and CAFTA Research (North American Free Trade Agreement and United States-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement) by Francisco Avalos and Maureen Garmon; update by Maureen Garmon
• A Guide to Legal Research in Costa Rica by Roger A. Petersen
• Researching Namibian Law and the Namibian Legal System by Geraldine Mwanza Geraldo and Isabella Skeffers; Update by Hilya Nandago
• A Guide to the Tunisian Legal System by Dahmène Touchent; Update by Khalil Mechantaf
• Scottish Legal History: A Research Guide by Yasmin Morais

[JH]

New and Updated Research Guides from GlobaLex

New and updated GlogaLex research guides published in December:

New Research Guide:

• The Bolivian Legal System and Legal Research by Mauricio Ipiña Nagel

Updated Guides:

• Guide to Georgian Legal Research by Irma Aladashvili; Update by Nana Patsia
• Luxembourg – Description of the Legal System and Legal Research by Nicolas Henckes
• Guide to Legal Research in Norway by Pål A. Bertnes
• Legal Research in Portugal by Tiago Fidalgo de Freitas

By the way, meet the benefactors whose charitable contributions support the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law which makes GlobaLex, edited by Mirela Roznovschi, possible, Rita and Gustave Hauser. [JH]

French Internet Piracy Law

This month, France will be putting its new, controversial internet piracy law into place. The law is designed to cut down on illegal downloads by monitoring internet usage of residents in France, issuing first a warning to potential abusers and then cutting internet access and/or the ability to contract for internet access in France. After the first warning, if another violation takes place within a 6 month period, a second notice will be issued. After the second notice is ignored, the government will move in to cut off internet usage for its citizens for a period of 2 to 12 months. (see Article 331-26, text of law in English linked below).

The government is creating a new agency for this monumental task called the "Higher Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Copyright on the Internet," or HADOPI.  HADOPI is also a short name to refer to the law itself.  Another popular name for the law is "three strikes."  The legislation is actually called the Creation and Internet Bill (la loi Création et Internet), Loi n°2009-669, 12 juin 2009. I don't know why it needs a short name, but it has two!

The new legislation amends the French Intellectual Property Code.  The most recent copy of the code available on Legifrance (in French or English) is dated March 2, 2006.  The CLEA database at WIPO is not any better. The best unofficial source I can find (for free or otherwise) is from La Quadature du Net, a public advocacy group that monitors internet rights.  It provides the original French version, and their own English translation (with disclaimers of course).

Considering the controversy the new law created, I was surprised at its lack of availability in English. In searching the scholarly literature, I was also disappointed; however, I did find two articles that specifically address current French internet law:

• Alexandre Entraygues, "The "Hadopi Law": New French Rules for Creation on the Internet," 20 Entertainment Law Review 264 (2009) (Comment)

• Jane K. Winn & Nicolas Jondet, "A 'New Deal' for End Users? Lessons from a French Innovation in the Regulation of Interoperability," 51 William & Mary Law Review 547 (2009)

Unfortunately, the Entraygues article is only available with a Sweet & Maxwell subscription.  I don't have one, so I'm still waiting for a copy via ILL. The Winn/Jondet article reviews administrative cooperation among regulators which is interesting, but probably not really what most people want to read about.  In any case, there isn't even an abstract of the new law in that article.

I have never been to a public library in France, but I am wondering what the libraries' involvement will be in the enforcement of the new law.  If a patron illegally downloads something, will the library receive an injuction notice from the government? Do they already have filters in place so that it is not an issue? Will there be a list of people who have been cut off from the internet by HADOPI who will be denied library internet access?  What if they are school children?  I can go on...

The entertainment community, including French President Sarkozy's pop-star wife Carla Bruni, heartily endorses the law though there is grassroots opposition from people who fear it will encourage IP identity theft and chill the free exchange of information. One blogger refers to HADOPI as the KGB for Europe. Though other EU national government have not come out to endorse France's aggressive approach, there is fear among the citizenry that this measure will be peddled by the influential Sarkozy to the EU at large.  And, perhaps across the pond to the US as well. (VS)

New and Updated Research Guides on GlobaLex

New and updated research guides on GlobaLex:

New Guides:

• Guide to Legal Research in Serbia by Linda Tashbook and Marko Zivanov
• Trinidad and Tobago Law and Legal Research by Catherine A. Deane and Vincent Moyer

Updated Guides:

• An Electronic Guide to Mexican Law --Update by Francisco A. Avalos
• Swedish Law and Legal Materials by Ingrid Kabir and Sofia Sternberg
• Law of the Republic of Tajikistan: A Guide to Web Based Resources by Oleg Stalbovskiy & Maria

[JH]

And the IALL 2009 Website Award Goes To . . .

the Audiovisual Library of International Law (ALIL)! The announcement came last month at IALL's annual course on international law librarianship held in Istanbul, Turkey. See my previous LLB posts for more details about the course and award. Congratulations to ALIL! [RLS]

ACTA Copyright Provisions Becoming Clearer

The secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement treaty provisions are starting to leak out in spite of the "national security" status granted to it by the Bush and Obama administrations.  The government let several groups (including public advocacy groups) see draft text on a non-disclosure basis.  The treaty provisions generally are starting to come out anyway.  Boing Boing has one interpretation.  Think DMCA times way worse on an international scale.  A more rational (but no less scary) view is presented by the ever thoughtful Michael Geist.  If the analysis is correct, ISPs will police copyright infringement, I'm guessing through deep packet inspection.  Perhaps that is the national security issue.  ISPs will have a reason to use it for detecting copyright infringement and the government gets the benefit of detecting matters of more interest to it.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but the treaty would be a plausible excuse to permanently monitor Internet communication.  There are also implications for DRM and third party copyright infringement liability.  Follow the links above to get more details.  [MG]

Law Library of Congress Stands by Honduras Report

The Law Library of Congress is under fire from Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman for a report issued in August that analyzed the removal of Honduran president Manuel Zelaya from office.  The report, Honduras:  Constitutional Law Issues, states that the removal was in keeping with Honduran laws and approved by judicial and legislative branches of the Honduran government.  The Obama administration along with other regional governments have called for Zelaya's restoration.  Kerry calls the report analysis flawed, but there are suggestions his response is political rather than legal.  He wants the report retracted, but the LLC is standing firm.  The report is here, and commentary is available at Jurist, McClatchy, the Kansas City Star, and the Hill.  [MG]

New and Updated Research Guides from GlobaLex

Just published by GlobaLex:

New Research Guide:

• The Law and Legal research in Zambia by Alfred S. Magagula

Updated Guides:

• A Guide to the Republic of Azerbaijan Law Research by Ramil Iskandarov Avaz
• A Guide on the Harmonization of International Commercial Law by Duncan Alford
• The Croatian Legal System and Legal Research by Dunja Kuecking, Milivoje Žugi, and Marija Glibota
• Essential Issues of the Peruvian Legal System by Sergio Endress Gómez and Milagros Bustillos Pinto
• Doing Legal Research in Romania by Dana Neacşu; 2009 update by Anamaria Corbescu

[JH]

EU Documents Library Now Available Online Back to 1952

The European Union announced the availability of all official EU publications since 1952 in digital format.  News articles mention 12 million scanned pages and 110,000 publications available free of charge in the EU Bookshop Digital Library.  The press release indicates the availability this way:

You will access them by selecting the option “Digital Library” in the search pages. Enjoy the reading!

The search feature at the Bookstore site is a tad confusing.  Select the Advance Search option from the main page and the Digital Library option appears as a radio button selection near the bottom of the page.  Publications are available in a wide variety of language.  As they say, happy reading.  Other reports indicate the archive will also be available at some point on Europeana, Europe's digital library of cultural materials.  [MG]

Foreign Gender Law Database Facilitates Comparative Analysis

The Doing Business Gender Law Library is a collection of national legal provisions covering women's economic status in 183 countries. The collection is regularly updated but the project developers do not guarantee that the database is exhaustive or the laws are the most recent version. Translations are not official unless indicated. The database facilitates comparative analysis by organizing its resources by the following categories:

Gender Equality

• Non-Discrimination
• Affirmative Action

Family and Inheritance Law

• Marriage and Divorce
• Inheritance

Labor Law

• Maternity
• Child Care
• Industry Prohibitions
• Work-Hour Limits
• Retirement
• Equal Pay
• Sexual Harassment

The Doing Business Gender Law Library is a joint initiative of the Doing Business Project and the World Bank Gender Action Plan, supported by Vital Voices Global Partnership. Hat tip to beSpacific. [JH]

New and Updated GlobaLex Legal Research Guides

The September release of GlobaLex research guides covering international, comparative, and foreign law includes the following:

New:

• The Indonesian Legal System and Legal Research by Alamo D. Laiman, Ronald Lengkong, Sigit Ardiyanto, Dewi Savitri Reni

Updated:

• Researching Cameroonian Law by Charles Manga Fombad
• An Introduction to the Czech Legal System and Legal Resources Online by Michal Bobek
• The Basic Structure of the Ecuadorian Legal System and Legal Research by Maria Dolores Miño
• Researching French Law by Stéphane Cottin and Jérôme Rabenou

[JH]